Crossing Over
by yaaaaaaayme
Summary: Naruto has been living for years as a girl. But why? And how can Sasuke help? Just who is Naruko? AU sasnuaru gender-bending high school fic. Yaoi, shonen-ai, slash, sasukeXnaruto. drama, romance, angst, humor, all rolled up in one tasty burrito. Enjoy. HIATUS
1. Namikaze Naruko: Average Girl?

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

I've found my new fanfic obsession: AU high school fics, namely sasunaru ones. So yes, this is a yaoi story, I suggest you don't read it if all you're going to do is flame me. Be open, people!

**Warnings: **AU, yaoi, teen partying, drama, occasional (accidental) OOCness, most likely a future lemon, foul language (oh noes!) and most of all...

_**CROSS-DRESSING!**_ Yay!

Still wanna read it? Then continue!

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 1: Namikaze Naruko****―Average Girl?**

Life is complicated― that's a given. Anyone who says their life is easy is either stupid, or lying. For some people, though, it's even more complicated than others. Take me, for example…

My name is Namikaze Naruko. Well, that's not my real name, actually… but I'll explain that later. It just easier this way; it helps relieve some of that complication I mentioned earlier. It's kind of hard to explain my life at the moment, but I guess I'll start with the basics.

I'm 15, and I'm a student at Konoha High. I'm not really that popular, but a do have quite a few friends. Tonight, the night my story really begins, I was attending a sleepover at my friends Sakura's house. I wouldn't exactly call her my best friend, but she's the closest thing I have to one.

Now you may be asking why I haven't told you whether I'm a boy or a girl. The answer is simple: I can't answer that. I was born as a boy― and technically still am one. But for the past 9 years, I've been living my life as a girl. Why, you ask? Just more of those complications….

I rang the doorbell next to Sakura's front door and waited for the pink haired girl to answer. She opened the door, her hands on her hips, staring at me.

"Naruko…" she said in mock-anger, "You're late again! You're the last one here…"

"Sorry," I replied in my girlish voice, "Iruka was busy, so I had to walk." That was entirely true. Iruka, my guardian since I was six years old, had something to do that night and couldn't give me a ride. It seemed like he was busy quite often lately… It didn't matter, though. I was fine with walking. And it wouldn't be long before I got my learner's permit. I wouldn't be able to afford a car of my own, but at least I would be able to borrow Iruka's from time to time.

Sakura invited me in and I dropped my bag by the large pile of things the other girls brought with them. I walked down the familiar hallway to Sakura's living room, where our usual crew awaited us. In addition to us, Ino, Hinata, Temari, and Tenten were all there. Of the four of them, I'd have to say I got along with Hinata the best. She was nice and quiet. Ino on the other hand… you couldn't exactly call us friends, but she and Sakura had been friends since before "Naruko" had even moved to the town of Konoha. I'd known Ino for far longer, though; another complication.

I didn't really know Temari and Tenten very well. Tenten was in my year at school and had been friends with Sakura and Ino for a while, but we never really hung out when Sakura wasn't there. Temari a year above us and was Tenten's girlfriend. Yes, you heard me right; Temari and Tenten were dating, and had been for nearly a year.

We settled in and started chatting. Sakura was throwing this party in a last attempt to squeeze some more fun into the summer, since school was starting just the day after tomorrow. We would be staying up for hours, having fun while mourning the loss of summer for almost an entire year. In the tradition of a sleepover― contrary to its name― there would be no sleeping tonight.

A few hours after I arrived, the party really began. Sakura's parents were out of town for the final weekend of summer. They knew Sakura was having the five of us over, but what they didn't know was that there was going to be more than just us five in the house that night. The ring of the doorbell could just barely be heard over the sound of the blaring stereo that we'd turned on.

Sakura got up to answer the door and returned a few minutes later with four boys in tow. Kiba, ever the energetic one, was the first to run in. he made a bee-line for Hinata and sat down between she and I, holding Akamaru, his dog, out for her to pet. As much as they tried to deny it, there was definitely something between them that was evident to nearly everyone. The next to enter was Lee. Ino grinned mischievously at Sakura, who sent a glare in her direction. Lee had had a crush on Sakura since he'd first met her several years ago, and proclaimed that fact to anyone that would listen. Sakura, on the other hand, pretended to have a crush on Sasuke, the most mysterious yet popular boy in our school. Deep down, though, I think she really did like Lee back, but just wouldn't admit it.

Shikamaru was the next to come in, strolling slowly with his hands in his pockets, a bored and apathetic look on his face. He sat down near Ino, instantly closing his eyes. If I didn't know any better, I would've sworn he'd fallen asleep. Ino was another one of the Sasuke fanatics at our school, but, being the boy-crazy girl she was, I'm sure she was leaving the option of dating Shikamaru open.

Neji strode in last; the last to enter is the last to leave your mind was his way of thinking. He walked with his chin held high, sweeping his pale eyes around the room with an arrogant sneer. He sat down beside― you guessed it― me, barely even raising an eyebrow at his cousin sitting a few people away.

Sakura cleared the empty soda cans from her coffee table and plunked down several full and open bottles of crystal clear vodka. Yup, the party had just begun.

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Later, after several different drinking games, everyone was successfully in the various stages of being drunk― except for Lee, of course, who couldn't hold down a drop of alcohol without throwing up violently, and had become the permanent, official designated driver for the group. Sakura tended to giggle a lot, and had recently moved to sitting comfortably in Lee's lap, messing up his usually perfectly bowl-shaped hair. Ino was still chatting, but much louder than normal and slurring every other word. Shikamaru looked… the same as usual, but I guessed he was actually asleep this time. Tenten and Temari were content to make out with each other for quite a while before coming up for air, only to dive right back into it moments later. Neji had pulled his long brown hair out of the tie that held it back, and was urging me, in a not-so-dignified manner, to do the same with my long blonde pigtails (1). Which I denied, by the way…

Kiba was louder than ever. He'd pulled the hood of his parka up and drawn red triangles on his cheeks with lipstick he stole from Ino and was now imitating everything that Akamaru did, including latching into Hinata's leg and humping with a furious passion. Hinata was a different person when she was drunk. Normally, she was quiet and shy and kept her eyes toward the ground. At the moment, however, she was laughing uncontrollably at Kiba's antics, and looked about 4 seconds away from tackling him for a bout of tongue-wrestling. Scratch that, it only took her three. I however….

…was faking it. Compared the amount the others drank, I'd had next to nothing, and definitely not enough to get me drunk. In my opinion, people who have huge secrets to hide shouldn't get drunk― you never know what might spill from your mouth when you're intoxicated. If I were to get hammered, I might reveal to the others that I'm really a boy in girl's clothing, or that I also have a crush on the most mysterious, yet popular guy in our school.

Oh, I guess that's something I forgot to mention. You see, when you've lived more than half your life as a girl, you start to think like one. So yes, like many of the girls in my school, I have fallen for none other than _the_ Uchiha Sasuke. Unlike the others, however, I don't parade my feelings around like those Sasuke-obsessed fangirls… I prefer to quietly admire him. He's a person that I desperately want to figure out; does he hide a secret like I do?

But, as usual, I'm afraid. If I ever do capture his attention, will he accept me for what I am?

I was pulled out of my musings as Sakura slid off Lee's lap and yet again cleared off her coffee table, save for a single, empty bottle.

"Truth or dare time," she slurred, giggling. I felt like running right out of the house at just those words alone. I hate truth or dare, it's the worst game ever invented. In fact, when they first created it, they were going to call it the "let's be forced by peer pressure to either do something stupid or spill our innermost secrets" game, but the name was too long for drunken kids at parties like this to slur their way through, so they shortened it. I didn't run, though, I stayed put.

"I'll go first…" Sakura said, spinning the bottle and waiting for it to stop. It landed facing Hinata. "Hinata, truth or dare?"

"Dare," she giggled in reply, pushing Kiba off her.

"I dare you to… French kiss Akamaru!"

If you ask me, the dog seemed more than willing to do this, and so did the tipsy Hinata. The game continued, involving such things as Sakura sitting by Lee's feet and making her best orgasm sounds (his face was redder than Temari's brother's hair), Ino braiding Neji's hair into two longs strands, and Temari giving the nearly-unresponsive Shikamaru a _very_ risky lap dance. The entire time, I was just hoping the small end of the bottle wouldn't point towards me, and so far I'd been lucky. My luck ran out, though, when Temari took her turn at spinning the bottle.

"Naruko! Truth or Dare?"

"T-truth…" _I guess I could always lie if it comes to that…_

"Boring!" complained Sakura.

"If she wants to be boring, she can… okay," Temari got a devilish glint in her eyes. I knew she was intending to make this as non-boring as possible. "Who do you fantasize about at night?"

I felt my face burn red, but luckily it was pretty dark and the others were too drunk to notice.

_Sasuke__…_

"Um… I don't really like anyone like that…"

"Come on! You have to do a dare, then. Fine, I dare you to make out with Hinata." I didn't want to do that either. Can you see why I hate this game?

"Oh, she won't do it!" Ino slurred loudly, "Naruko's as straight as a feather!" (2)

"Arrow," Shikamaru said suddenly, without missing a beat.

"Wha…?"

"Straight as an arrow. You said feather. Were you confusing it with 'light as a feather'?"

"Oh, Shika-chan…" she said sensually, crawling up on the lazy boy's lap. "You're so smart…"

"Troublesome…"

"Hell," Sakura exclaimed suddenly, crossing the room to Hinata "If Naruko won't do it, then I will!"

Just how many people― and animals― did Hinata make out with that night?

"Ugh, fine, but you still have to do a dare," Temari complained, "Make out with Neji!"

I shrugged, finally admitting defeat and turned towards the boy sitting next to me, who had already leaned towards me. I tried not to laugh at how absolutely ridiculous his hair looked in two braids, and allowed our lips― and tongues― to meet. It was obvious he wanted to take it farther than that, but I broke it off after a few seconds. He tasted like stale alcohol and kissed like a dead fish. (3)

Don't ask me why I know what a dead fish kisses like.

Can you see why I hate this game?

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The boys left about an hour later. Lee's mother imposed a strict 2:00 curfew. Any later and he'd be forced to wear that jumpsuit thing again, with those orange leg warmers. Ugh, there are just _some _things you never want to see, and skin-tight, eye-raping, green spandex is near the top of that list, just above Neji with braided pigtails.

Hinata was actually the first to pass out, around 4:30 am. She was soon followed by the rest of us, who were too tired and semi-drunk to find anything else to do.

I woke up around 10:30 the next morning, unable to block out the morning light that was entering Sakura's living room. I sat up slowly and looked around. It looked like a tornado had collided with an atom bomb, spawned an interspecies demon-child between them, then gave the demon-child a baseball bat and empty vodka bottles, and set him loose on the room, its furniture, and its inhabitants. And then threw up.

What the hell did we do last night? You know it's bad if I don't remember. I wasn't really drunk… but I was so tired, I think the vodka was the only thing keeping me going for so long. I rubbed my forehead. It wasn't a full-blown hangover, more like a dull throb of pain just over and around my right eye (4). The light wasn't helping at all. I got up to close the blinds sleepily, tripping over Tenten in the process.

"Watch where you're going…" she mumbled, grabbing the couch cushion that was somehow near her and burying her head under it.

I weaved my way through the maze of debris, eventually making it to the window. As I reached up to grab the string that would lower the blinds, a flash of movement outside caught my attention. A car was pulling into Sakura's driveway. It took a second to really reach my brain.

Iruka.

Shit. Well, that woke me up.

I ignored the headache and ran around the room, gathering up all the articles of clothing that had somehow scattered themselves. I was lucky, though. I was still wearing a tank-top and shorts. Any farther than that and my secret would probably be revealed. I threw the random bits of clothing on quickly and ran to the front door.

Iruka honked, indicating he'd been waiting too long. Any longer and he'd be getting out of the car and coming to the door. That would _not_ be good.

I slid my shoes on quickly and grabbed the bag I'd brought― untouched, by the way. I called back to Sakura to tell her I was leaving, and was met with a growl-like response, but was out the door before she could attack. Iruka was just about to get out of his car.

"Oh," he said, "Did you have a nice time?"

"Yeah, we watched a ton of scary movies and stayed up really late!" I answered cheerfully. I knew he wouldn't ask me which movies we watched, since he hated horror movies.

"You look pretty tired," he commented as I pulled my seatbelt on and we pulled out of the drive. "How late did you stay up?"

"Oh, about 4," I lied, wondering why that was always one of the first questions parents― and in this case, guardians― asked after a sleepover. Who actually pays attention to the time?

"No wonder…" he replied. We drove in silence for a little while.

"Iruka?" I asked, dropping the girlish voice and using my real voice, something that was hardly ever used. He knew I was serious, then.

Iruka was one of two people other than me who knew what I really was. The other was Tsunade, who had once been my doctor and was now the school nurse. She'd changed jobs so she could keep an eye on me.

"What is it?"

"Why can't I be normal… like Sakura, or Ino?"

He smiled sadly in my direction, trying to give encouragement. "Well, you know you can go back to being a boy anytime."

"It's not that…" I said quietly. The truth is, I actually _liked _being a girl. And how would I explain a thing like this to people?

"The others there were really happy and carefree. I feel like I'm faking happiness." I don't know why I told him that. It had been, until that point, yet another secret that I hid. Maybe I'd had more to drink than I thought.

"Well… it's a part of growing up. Its normal to feel like you aren't like other people."

"But it's true about me."

"Naruto," he said, using my real name, which I hadn't heard in quite a while. "I promise it'll be okay. You'll find where you belong."

"How do you know?"

He didn't respond, but I saw that he had tightened his grip on the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white. I shifted my gaze out the window, and watched the buildings pass and followed the telephone wires as they seemed to move up and down in an endless pattern.

_That's what I thought…_

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(1) Keep in mind, Naruko/Naruto looks like s/he does with her/his Orioke (Sexy) jutsu. Plus clothes. Yep, s/he's hot!

(2) Based on a hilariously sad-because-its-true story. I was at a party was friend was having with just me, her, and three other friends. Me, the girl throwing the party, and one other girl are straight(ish), and the other two are lesbians and in a relationship. We were getting really bored with the movie we were watching, so we started playing truth or dare (which, yes, I do hate). It was my turn to be dared, and one of the gay girls, who I really didn't know that well though I knew her girlfriend, dared me to kiss the other straight girl (not the one throwing the party). I looked hesitant, so my friend (throwing the party) said "Aw yaaaaaaayme won't do it, she's as straight as a _feather_! I'll do it, though!" She used my real name, of course. Yes, my friends and I are this messed up.

Coincidentally, it wasn't that I was afraid to kiss another girl, it's just that I think a kiss should be something special between people who have a strong relation ship. Yeah, I'm old fashioned. Deal with it.

(3) Dead fish: ex-boyfriend…. . see above.

(4) Happening to me at the moment, for no apparent reason.

Oh, and a word to the curious. No, I don't drink, and probably never will (tastes god awful!). That story above involved no drinking whatsoever. We're stupid enough without it.

Well, review please! This is a pilot. Should I continue? Sasu-chan will be in the next chapter! (And I promise never to call him that again….)

Ja ne!

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	2. The Uchiha Sasuke

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

EDIT 7/17/09: I think that bitchy rant to flamers has been up long enough...

**Warnings: **you could probably guess by now. If not, wow.

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 2: **_**The **_**Uchiha Sasuke**

Iruka threw his keys into the bowl we kept on the kitchen counter in our small apartment, and I promptly threw myself down onto the couch, planning for a day of doing absolutely nothing.

"Do you want anything to eat?" Iruka called out to me, digging through the contents of the fridge. I cursed how loud his voice was; it wasn't helping my headache any.

"No," I called back, "I had something at Sakura's." Okay, so that was a complete lie. I hadn't eaten since lunch yesterday, except for a midnight snack at Sakura's. Plus a 2 am snack, and a 4 am snack as well, but that technically didn't count. I wasn't hungry, though, I just wanted to sleep.

"Oh, hey," Iruka said, walking over near me, "Sorry I was so late to pick you up this morning."

"What?"

"You said 8 o'clock, right? I hope Sakura wasn't mad you stayed 2 hours later…"

"O-oh… um, she wasn't."

I sighed once he'd walked away again. _8:00_? I groaned inwardly, _Ugh, I meant at night…_

I lazily flicked on the television and went through the channels about 4 times before admitting there was nothing on― as usual― and settling for some mindless reality show. Even the sound of the numerous cat fights on the TV couldn't keep me awake, and I fell asleep fairly quickly.

I woke up several hours later in mild confusion, blinking for what seemed like a full minute before realizing I had fallen asleep on the couch and it was almost dark outside. The apartment sounded quiet, so I assumed Iruka had gone out for a while. He'd turned off the T.V. as well. I got up and stretched, finding that my headache was gone, but I was still incredibly tired.

I walked down to the end of our short hallway to the bathroom. I realized I hadn't taken a shower since the morning before, and it just didn't feel right to go that long without one. I closed the door and locked both the lock on the handle, and the bolt we'd installed to the top part of the door as well. I wasn't that I didn't trust Iruka, I just felt much better when the outside world was separated from me. Securely inside, I began to strip off the many layers of clothes I wore. First were the normal, everyday clothes I wore when I wasn't wearing the uniform for school. Then came the tank-top I wore under everything and a pair of form-fitting shorts. Under the tank-top was a piece of material that wrapped around my stomach like a girdle; it was there to give the impression that I had more feminine curves. I had to stay almost dangerously underweight to look more like a girl. Tsunade, being a doctor, naturally disapproved of this, but she couldn't force me to gain more weight. I never kept my promises to get up to a more healthy weight; there was a chance that could jeopardize my secret.

Under all of that clothing was my underwear, and it was typical of what most girls wore. Unlike most girls, though, my bra contained silicon inserts that, under my clothing, looked and felt very real. Of course, Tsunade was the one who got all this for me and she went a little overboard in that department.

The lower half of my body was a little more complicated. Unlike with my chest, in which I was adding something, in this area I had to make it seem like I'd taken something away. I don't think you really want the details of how I managed that.

It was all so much easier when I was little. "Naruko" first made her appearance when I was 6 years old. Luckily, my features were already slightly more feminine than other boys, and I'd been mistaken for a girl before since the body types of little kids are similar no matter if they are male or female. When it was first decided that I'd be masquerading as a girl, I grew my hair really long to enhance the illusion, and it had been long ever since. Gradually though, as I grew up, the things I used to make me seem like a girl grew more and more. The worst was when the other girls my age began developing and I didn't. I just played it off as me being a late bloomer. And "bloom" I did, much more quickly than would usually be considered normal, but no one seemed to notice. Now, though, I was pretty much settled into a routine that wouldn't change for a while.

By now, I was used to putting on and taking off everything each and every day. It was the reason, though, that I had to get up much earlier than your average student to get ready for school. It was also the reason I was late to things like Sakura's party.

After I took a shower, I had to shave. Yes, as much as I looked like a girl, the male hormones in me did kick in eventually and I now had to shave nearly every day. It was strange, really. My daily routine was a combination of both boy and girl things. That's probably why I took twice as long as most people. (2)

I put my pajamas on and finished the last of my summer homework. That's right, I didn't finish until about 9:00 the night before it was due. It was still early, but I was still tired, so I grabbed something very small to eat from the fridge, and went back to sleep for the night.

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The morning came too early. It always did.

I got up groggily and put on all my "equipment", as I called it sometimes―the things I used to make myself look like a girl, and then picked up the dreaded school uniform and put it on slowly, making sure it looked good. The uniform had consisted of a nice white shirt, a school jacket, and a shirt that was the same color as the jacket. I was actually glad it had a skirt. Strangely, I felt much more comfortable in them― maybe it was because skirts made it easier for me to hide certain things that were painfully obvious in pants (3). The whole uniform, along with my own special "uniform" that I wore underneath it, consisting of several layers, could get very hot and kind of sweaty, especially at the end of the summer. Which it was now. Ugh… I just hoped the day would move as quickly as the night had. Luckily, though, it got cooler pretty quickly into autumn around here.

As I sipped the tea that I had every day for breakfast, I looked around the small apartment. It only had 5 rooms: my room, Iruka's room, the bathroom, the living room, and the kitchen. Well, technically the kitchen and living room didn't have a wall between them, so it was really only 4 rooms. Saying there were 5 made it seem just slightly bigger. I hardly ever had anyone over the house for two reasons: one, I'm really a boy, and there was too much risk of them finding something to give me away, and two, it was kind of embarrassing to have such a small living space. I used that second excuse only, though and by now my friends just knew they wouldn't be coming over unless it was one of the rare occasions that I invited them over. Even then, they wouldn't be going past the living room.

I heard a horn blare outside, and I got up and stuck my head out the small kitchen window, which was on the side of the building that faced the street. Sakura's car was on the street below. She leaned out her window and waved.

I grabbed my school bag and ran out the door of the apartment. When I got to the elevator, I impatiently punched the down button several times until the doors finally opened. The elevator was an extremely old, slow one that took almost a full minute to go from the fourth floor, on which mine and Iruka's apartment was on, to the bottom floor. The doors finally opened again, and I ran out through the small lobby and to the street beyond.

I climbed into Sakura's car― a VW bug that matched the color of her hair― and she sped away from my block in the direction of the school.

"I'm _so_ jealous you can drive already!" I said, taking note of the new car smell that permeated the leather interior. Actually, I was jealous of more than just that, as much as I hated to admit it.

Sakura may not have been as wealthy as some of the kids at our school― take Hinata, for example; the heiress to a multi-million dollar corporation― but she did come from an upper _upper_ middle class family. Her father had bought her this car recently, when she received her license.

"You'll be getting your permit soon, though," she replied, clicking on the car's radio, "You can drive then." As a monotonous song played on the radio (4), I continued my musings.

Even when I did get my license, I wouldn't be getting a car of my own until I was out of college. But the jealousy I had for my best friend didn't end there. Sakura was a real girl, and about as feminine as they come. I, on the other hand, was slowly and unavoidably become more masculine. Each day was more of a struggle to maintain a female voice, a struggle my friends would never know; as my friends filled out into more womanly shapes, I added more to my disguise.

They would lead a normal life… I never would.

You see, it all started when I was 5 years old. I lived with my biological parents then, and everything seemed fine. I had an uncle, however, who would always get my dad into trouble. His name was Kyuubi, and he―

"Naruko?" Sakura's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Huh?"

"I asked you a question, like, five minutes ago!"

"Oh, sorry," I laughed, realizing we were almost to school already, "I kind of zoned out for a while. What did you asked me?"

"I asked you why you seem so nervous… Is it a guy? I bet it's a guy!"

"Um… you could say that, I guess…"

"It's Neji, right?" She let out a high-pitched, girly squeal. "How awesome would that be if you ended up dating Neji, while I ended up with Sasuke?! We'd be the talk of the school!"

Sakura continued to babble on for a few more minutes, and I nodded and agreed sometimes, pretending to pay attention. _Why does everyone think I like Neji? It's not like I wanted to make out with him…_ _And I definitely don't want to be the talk of the school. But there's no way I can tell Sakura that I actually like Sasuke… then I'll be just like any other fangirl._

We arrived at the school and met up with Ino, Tenten and Hinata at the front steps, near the entrance doors. We began our standard first-day-of-school ritual of seeing how much people had changed, seeing who'd gotten together, seeing who got hot and who was just… not. Our chatting was interrupted, however, by the arrival of one _very_ hot sophomore.

_The _Uchiha Sasuke was coming right for us, coolly holding his bag with one hand resting on his shoulder. He was looking down, ignoring everyone. Sakura and Ino practically had hearts in their eyes as they watched his every move― just like 90 percent of the rest of the female population at the moment. Hinata just shyly looked away and Tenten rolled her eyes at the fangirls.

I, on the other hand, pretended I didn't care Sasuke was passing by, but still looked at him steadily. If he had looked up, there would have been straight eye contact.

And that's just what happened. It was only for the briefest of seconds, but I noticed it nonetheless. Just before he pulled open the doors to the school, polished onyx stones met lapis lazuli in a heart-stopping moment of geological bliss (5). I felt, for that briefest of seconds as if someone had shoved a ball of lightening through my chest. I'm not sure if Sasuke was feeling anything of the same, as he lowered his gaze again and kept on walking.

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If there was anything I hated more than truth or dare, it was first period gym class. It was warm, and I was stuck here by the school's swimming pool, gazing longingly at the crystalline water, unable to jump in as I so wanted to. I loved swimming, but swimming at school, around others, was in no way an option. I had a note, signed by both Iruka and Tsunade, claiming a medical reason I couldn't go in the water. Yeah… I supposedly broke out in a rash if chlorine touched my skin.

I sat in the bleachers by the side of the pool, far enough away so that not a single drop of the cool water would be able to land on me. I. Was. Bored. My boredom was relieved about ten minutes into class, however, when a dark-haired boy walked casually in. No, not Lee! Sasuke…

He walked up to the enthusiastic gym teacher, Gai, and handed him a note. Gai was a friend of Lee's mother, and was the one who had given her the idea of the green spandex suit. He was not wearing one at the moment, however. No, for today's gym class, he opted for a green spandex… Speedo. It left literally nothing to the imagination, and one bounce could trigger the gag reflex. That was the one plus side to being _so_far away from the rest of the class. I didn't have to be anywhere near Gai-sensei's... um… _youth_.

Gai-sensei pointed (youthfully) in my direction, and my heart instantly began to beat faster. No, not because he struck a pose while he did it and my heart just _swooned_ at the sight of that tiny green banana hammock… It was because _The_Uchiha Sasuke was walking towards me again! I acted casual as he sat down a mere five feet away. I took me a while to gain the courage to speak.

"So…" I asked softly, "You aren't doing gym either?"

"Hn," he answered monosyllabically. _Duh, _I thought, _that's kind of obvious…_ A small amount of time elapsed before I spoke again.

"What's your excuse for skipping gym?"

"I'm allergic to chlorine," he said flatly.

I looked at him strangely (he didn't notice, he was staring at the pool). _I couldn't be… that's my excuse, too. Maybe Sasuke has something he's hiding, the real reason he isn't going swimming! ...Or maybe that's just wishful thinking, because I want someone else to have to hide a secret, not just me. Perhaps it's a coincidence, and he really is allergic to chlorine._

"Yeah," I said slowly, "Me too…"

We basically ignored each other for the rest of the period. Well, he ignored me, and I pretended to ignore him. Even though I commented on how boring a class it was doing nothing when I got up as the bell rang, it was only partially the truth. Really, I was looking forward to the next gym class, when I'd be able to just sit around and do nothing with Sasuke again.

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The next period was English class, which I'm pretty much horrible at (6). The teacher, Kakashi-sensei, came in about 20 minutes after the bell rang, with the excuse that he got lost in the library. Having heard the silver-haired teacher's reputation, we all knew what that was code for; he was reading his porn book again, and lost track of time. Sakura sat next to me in that class, luckily, and Sasuke sat behind me. I resisted the urge to turn around though. That would be too obvious.

Third period was history with Ibiki-sensei. It was pure torture― none of my friends were in that class with me. Unless you count Neji. And I don't. After history came lunch, in which I could finally sit with all of my friends. I noticed that Sasuke was sitting alone, though surrounded by fangirls, on the windowsill. Only a few people sat on the windowsill (fangirls don't count). Generally, the people who sat on the windowsill didn't have many― or any― friends. Like Temari's brother, Gaara, for example. He was intimidating, so everyone avoided him. He was basically friendless. But that couldn't be true for Sasuke, could it?

Well if he was, then I doubt he was lonely because of it. Another common trait of the friendless people who sat on the windowsill: they liked it that way. They sat there on purpose, after all.

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I'm not sure how I got the idea in my head, or what possessed me to decline Sakura's offer of a ride home, but either way, I did it. I called Iruka and told him I'd be staying after to finish a project I'd been working on in last period art. That's what I'd told Sakura, as well. It wasn't at all the truth.

Ever since first period, I'd been dying to go swimming. I loved to swim. Tsunade, who had gotten rich from being a doctor for many years before she was the school nurse, had a pool at her house that she would allow me to use basically whenever I wanted. I waited alone in the gym until I was sure everyone in the school had gone home.

It was about 5:00 when I finally got in the water. I hadn't brought my suit with me, but I didn't really care. The many layers of clothes I'd worn all day had gotten way too hot, and I was glad to take them off. I grabbed a towel from the locker room and stripped off everything, leaving my clothes there as I snuck back to the pool. I discarded my towel on the bleachers and dove right into the cool water.

After I'd swam a little to release the energy I'd seemed to have built up during the day, I just began floating, letting my long hair flow out behind me like a train. For a while, I was completely relaxed. Then I heard I noise in the previously soundless school. It was the sound of the door to the pool room opening with a bang that echoed around the large room. I skittered to the side of the pool and pressed myself against the tile wall, peeking just a tiny bit above the edge.

_The _Uchiha Sasuke. Coming towards me. Again.

My heart was about to explode. But for a different reason this time…

_The _Uchiha Sasuke. Close enough to discover my secret.

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1. Really.

2. Yeah, I'm a girl, so… the only things I know about male cross-dressing come from a VERY weird manga called _Boku no Futatsu no Tsubasa _("My Two Wings" for the less Japanese-inclined). It's about a hermaphrodite (s/he lives as a girl), and there's also a cross-dresser in it (he helps her disguise herself better). It's STRANGE I TELL YOU!

3. –Cough- Yeah. Uhh… you should be able to figure out what. See note #2.

4. You know the ones. They have female singers who only know about 5 notes, plus the unnecessary trills they add to every other syllable.

5. Yay for lame jokes about the colors of stones! If you couldn't already guess, onyx stone is dark black, while lapis lazuli is bright, bright blue. "Geological bliss" is probably a phrase that really isn't used too often. Or ever… Yeah, I know the word "onyx" (despite being a cool word) is way overused when describing Sasuke's eyes, but I was watching a show earlier about the Mona Lisa where they mentioned Lapis Lazuli as being a bright paint pigment stone, and… I'm rambling. I'll stop.

6. Let's just pretend they're speaking Japanese…

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	3. Kakashi Sensei: lazy, yet evil

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

It's funny… this story is much less popular than my other stories, but it's definitely one of my favorites. Maybe because I've been able to display my odd, sarcastic sense of humor a lot more in this, which is always fun. Well, whatever the reason, I enjoy writing this, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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**Last Time:**

_I skittered to the side of the pool and pressed myself against the tile wall, peeking just a tiny bit above the edge. _

_Uchiha Sasuke. Coming towards me. Again._

_My heart was about to explode. But for a different reason this time…_

_Uchiha Sasuke. Close enough to discover my secret._

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 3: Kakashi-sensei: lazy, yet evil**

He hadn't seen me yet. I stayed low in the water, my head just high enough so I could see him.

Sasuke walked over to the bleachers, and began taking off his shoes. He appeared to now be in swimming trunks. Realization dawned on me. _He's going swimming? That means I was right earlier for thinking he was lying about the reason he wasn't going swimming in gym. But what's the real reason…?_ I didn't have much time to think about it. He was pulling off his shirt…

Fears of being discovered aside, I couldn't help but notice how good he looked. He was slightly muscular, but not overly so, and on the thin side. He was pale, yes, but that seemed to only enhance his looks as his alabaster skin contrasted with his raven-feather hair and onyx eyes (1).

I sunk into the water even lower as he began walking towards the pool. Now that he was closer, I could better see the skin on his chest and arms. I stifled a gasp as I realized why he never went swimming in class or wore short sleeved shirts, even when it was very warm. His entire torso was littered with cuts and scars; some looked new, but others looked like they'd been there for a long time. But what were they from?

He stopped. I though for a second he'd seen me, but then he turned around and went back to the bleachers, where his clothing lay in a neat pile. It seems he had nearly forgotten to take his cell phone out of the pockets of his swim shorts. I realized as he walked back over that it was now or never. I summoned all the courage I possessed― which was usually a lot― and spoke up.

"S-Sasuke…" I called, so quietly it sounded like Hinata (when she wasn't drunk at a party). Nevertheless, it carried in the natatorium (2), echoing off the high ceiling and walls. Sasuke whipped around to face me. When he saw where I was, he set his face into a harsh glare. I wanted to sink all the way back into the water at that look.

"What are you doing here?" he practically growled, coming a little closer. My already bursting heart began beating faster.

"I… well, I was swimming. I didn't know you would want to, too… really, I was just about to get out, so…" I was trying really hard not to cry. _He's so close, he just _can't _see what I really am! _

"Then why don't you?" he asked flatly.

"Well, I didn't have a bathing suit with me… so I… I'm not…" While attempting to explain my situation, I hadn't noticed that he'd gone back over to the bleachers, and was now returning with a large towel.

"Here," he said, not really looking at me at all. Actually, he was turned away from me completely, offering the towel blindly behind him. I got out quickly and wrapped it around myself, turning my back to him as well, and using my hair to hide as much of me as possible.

"Um, thank you, Sasuke…" I said very quietly. Without waiting for a response, I ran back to the girl's locker room.

When I finally came back out, Sasuke was nowhere in sight. Disappointed, I dialed Iruka and raised my cell phone to my ear.

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I was sure to wash the towel thoroughly, and spent about fifteen minutes trying to fold it perfectly. At school the next day, I was ready to give it back to Sasuke. With any luck, I would start a conversation the right way (and not while we were both in various states of nakedness). At lunch, he was sitting alone on the windowsill again. I took a deep breath, and walked over. Sakura was too deeply engrossed in a conversation with Ino about the various types of lip-gloss and how to properly apply it.

"Sasuke?" I said, trying to sound more confident than I had yesterday. He looked up from the book in his lap, but didn't answer. "Um, thank you for yesterday." I held out my hands, the towel lying across them. He took it and then, ruining my perfect folding, tossed in down onto his bag, which was on the floor at the base of the windowsill. I turned to walk away.

"Hey, uh… Naruko, was it?" his― oh so heavenly― voice called me back.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying not to show my nervousness.

"About yesterday―" he began quietly.

"Sasuke-kun!" I realized Sakura was coming towards us. In fangirl mode.

Don't get me wrong, Sakura was the closest thing I had to a best friend. But her antics could certainly get… tiring at times. Like when she was obsessing over Sasuke. He visibly buried himself deeper in his book.

"Oh, Naruko, I didn't see you over here!" she said as she came closer. "What'cha doing?"

"Oh… I wanted to ask Sasuke about English class," I lied.

"What a coincidence," my pink haired friend said with a smile (directed at Sasuke, mostly), "Me too. So Sasuke-kun, what was the homework for English?"

He held up the book he was reading slightly, so we could see the cover. _To Kill a Mockingbird_. It was a standard book they had us read to see if we could actually understand the language they were teaching us.

"Chapters one and two," he said in a low and annoyed voice, "Summarize in Japanese."

"Thanks," said Sakura, obviously a little put off by his attitude. Then again, his coldness was all a part of why she― and the other fangirls― liked him in the first place. That wasn't my reason, though; for I had liked him far longer than any of them had. Back before everything got so complicated…

I walked alongside Sakura as we made our way back to our usual table, with Ino, Hinata, and several others. Secretly, I chanced a glance back at Sasuke. His head snapped down to look at the book in his lap. But wait, that meant…

Was I imagining it? Had Sasuke been staring at us?

Staring at _me?_

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No, I hadn't been imagining it. At the end of study, the other period he and I had together, during the last period of that day, he approached me. Everyone else was gone, having left immediately after bell rang. I had been stalling to spend more time in his presence; as it turned out, he had been doing the same with me.

"Naruko," he said in a quiet voice that was only slightly less cold than the one he normally used. "I want to talk to you about yesterday."

I wave of fear rolled over me, and I found myself unable to speak. Had he seen something? Did he suspect me? And what would be his reaction if he knew my secret. Still tongue-tied, I just nodded.

"Did you, uh, see anything?"

My fear turned to confusion, and then quickly to realization. I had been so caught up in worrying about my own secret, I hadn't thought once about his. Those scars.

"…yes," I stated quietly, dropping my gaze to the ground. He stayed silent. I looked back up at him to find that he, too, was looking away. "But," I continued, "I won't try to offer sympathy or pity. And I promise, I won't judge you." Too nervous to continue speaking with him, I walked past him to the door of the classroom. "I should go," I finished lamely. "My ride is waiting."

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The rest of the first week of school passed by me before I had the chance to think. Sakura and I had hung out several times, but I hadn't spoken to Sasuke since that Tuesday afternoon. Gym classes were spent in strained silence.

You know what? In teen movies, love moves quickly. By now, the heroine of the story would have already captured the heart of her crush, and they would be going steady within the week. I, however, learned a long time ago that real life doesn't work the same as the movies. And if the heroine happens to be a boy dressed as a girl, it sure does make capturing her crush a hell of a lot harder.

Sakura did not have a party that weekend. Her parents were home, and her grandmother had come for a visit. Our usual antics were not an option. We instead spent the weekend hanging out at the mall. There, we took part in our favorite competitive sport; boy-watching. I'll admit, I did actually enjoy this from time to time. I mean, I didn't take it as far as Sakura and Ino, puffing out my chest or pouting my lips anytime a cute guy walked by, but of course it was fun to look…

By gym class on Thursday of the following week, I had pretty much given up hope of Sasuke ever acknowledging me again. Until English class, that is.

Kakashi-sensei was assigning a project to the class, in which we'd have to work in teams of three. The lazy teacher was far too lazy to actually make a list of people who would be working together, so he just randomly made groups of whoever was sitting closest together. That being said, I was now working with Sakura… and Sasuke.

"Your assignment," said the silver-haired teacher to us from behind an-orange covered book that hid the lower half of his face, "Is to…"

He paused for dramatic effect. From somewhere near the back of the class someone― who sounded a lot like Kiba― yelled "Get on with it, Sensei!"

Kakashi-sensei's eyes curved into upside down u-shapes, showing that that he was smiling behind his book. "The members of your group… have to get to know one another."

The statement was met by blank stares.

"Is he serious?" someone near me whispered.

"What the hell does this have to do with English?!" yelled Kiba again from the back row.

"There's more to it, of course…" the teacher continued lazily, mostly ignoring Kiba. "I just don't feel like explaining it. Everyone come and get a packet from my desk."

We spent the rest of the period looking over the project requirements he'd given us. As I flipped through the packet, trying to make sense of it― a tough feat, considering it was all in English, which, I repeat, is not my strong suit― I caught a few words I understood. _Next three weeks… information gathering… bonds of friendship… visit each other's houses… eat together at lunch…_

My brain jarred, and I flipped back to where I'd seen one of those phrases. _Visit each other's houses. _Frantically, I skimmed over that paragraph.

…_in addition to the time spent together working on the project itself, students must give proof of having visited each other's houses, preferably for a sleepover of sorts. This will show how far the cooperation between the group members has progressed, and will…_

I stopped reading. This was bad… really bad. Both Sakura and Sasuke had to spend time over my house, and, because Kakashi is sadistic (though he won't admit it, I'm sure), he had included that a sleepover was preferable. That was way up near the top of the list of things that I never wanted to happen.

Now, Sakura may have seemed like a bubblehead the majority of the time, but she was actually very smart when it came to school, and cared very much for her grades. Sasuke, I knew, was also near the top of the class. Those two, though it would be Sakura more than Sasuke, would want the maximum number of points. And Sakura would probably use any excuse possible to spend the night with Sasuke.

The worst part was, I had no way a refusing them a visit to my house. Sakura would definitely drill me for an excuse, one which I had no intention of giving. She knew I hardly ever let people over my house, but when Sasuke was involved, she'd do anything. I was stuck.

Crap.

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Kakashi must've been evil. It really seemed like the only explanation.

In only the second week of school, yet he had assigned us a project that required three weeks of "information gathering", that included spending practically every moment with our "new friends", two essays on what we'd learned about our other group members, one in Japanese and the other in English, and a PowerPoint that we would present as a group in front of the rest of the class. It was all due the first week of October.

Apparently, he'd given the same assignment out to every one of his classes. All over the school, you could see odd groups of three. People who had barely spoken or hadn't ever acknowledged each other's existence were now expected to sit together at lunch, do homework with each other, and hang out after school. Some groups worked better than others, if the group members were lucky and got along. Many groups spent as little time as possible together, while still fulfilling the project requirements, ignoring each other until needed. Others, however, contained members that hated the guts of the other members. Fights often broke out. Reputations were permanently altered. Geeky kids were chatting with cheerleaders; popular guys were tethered to their fangirls. The hierarchy of cliques and balances that high school life had for so long depended on was in utter anarchy!

Was Kakashi _trying_ to fuck up the system?

Considering that it _was_Kakashi in all his lazy evilness, I'd have to say an enthusiastic '_yes!'._

Since Sakura and I already spent a lot of time together, it wasn't a problem for us. Sasuke, on the other hand, was a different story. He was so distant and cold, especially when Sakura was in close proximity. He seemed to lighten up a little when it was me, but that may have just been wishful thinking on my part. Either way, the project was difficult for our group.

One week had passed, with little success. If we were going to spend any time with each other, it would have to start that weekend.

Friday arrived. Sakura's parents had already okayed her plan, considering it was technically for school.

That plan being the first of the three sleepovers we were expected to have.

I reiterate. Crap.

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Oh, Kakashi… messing things up of poor Naruto/ko.

1. Yay for Sasuke's paleness! It's becoming so that I can't stand looking at people who have just gone tanning. Their skin looks all fake and peely and all I can see is their future of having skin cancer. I mean, I can understand if people are naturally tan (my friend is, even in the winter) or dark skinned, but just don't get the appeal of lying outside to get tan. I fully embrace my super paleness that has resulted from spending too much time inside on the internet (when I go outside, my inner arms are so white, they look bluish!). But yeah… oh, and if anyone remembers my note from last time, on onyx and lapis lazuli, then I should add that, in addition to it being a very white color of skin, alabaster is also a type of stone. I swear, I don't do this on purpose! (Not much, anyway…)

2. A natatorium, according to my dad, is a room which houses a pool. If anyone has a better word for this, let me know! (Room-with-pool-in-it sounds lame).

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	4. Romantic Moonlit Arrest Evasions

_*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******_

_Large blocks of italic text, succeeded and proceeded by two dashes (- -) indicate a flashback._

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**Last Time:** _One week had passed, with little success. If we were going to spend any time with each other, it would have to start that weekend. _

_Friday arrived. Sakura's parents had already okayed her plan, considering it was technically for school. That plan being the first of the three sleepovers we were expected to have._

_I reiterate. Crap._

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 4: Past-Midnight Spit Swapage and Romantic Moonlit Arrest Evasions**

Let's face it: Sakura was easy to fool. Sure, she was smart when it came to school stuff, but that was only because she was a perfectionist about things like that. Any other time, she was a complete and total airhead. And her being completely hammered nearly every time I slept over gave more than a little help.

Sasuke, on the other hand, would be harder to maintain my illusion around. He was smart― a genius, pretty much. One more slip and he could start to figure things out… and if you ask me, one close call per decade was enough to satisfy my thirst for danger.

I had already been over Sakura's for two hours, and Sasuke had yet to show up. It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get him to agree in the first place, but he knew it was for school, and therefore inevitable. But he was this late, and we had no way of contacting him― as if he would let Sakura have access to his cell phone number. Both disappointed and relieved at the same time, I thought that, perhaps, he wasn't going to come after all. Then the doorbell rang.

Sakura was up in a flash, her short red skirt flipping out behind her as I was left on her living room couch, where we had been chatting while we waited. She'd put a lot of time into picking out her outfit for that night. For an hour straight, it had been "Does this look okay?" and "I want to look a little slutty, but not too whorish…" and "Will this make Sasuke-kun fall in love with me?". Of course, I, too, had put some effort into what I was wearing that night; not only to look good, but to also make sure there was no way my secret could be exposed. Sakura was just a little… obsessive.

Sakura returned to the living room a minute later with a disgruntled-looking Sasuke in tow. He sat down on the other end of the couch from me and dropped his small bag at his feet. Sakura took a seat in the cushion in between Sasuke and me.

We sat…

…and sat some more…

…nobody spoke…

…nobody moved…

…a fly that had gotten inside flew lazily past my face…

By that point, it was officially awkward.

"Umm, I'll go get us something to eat," said Sakura, breaking the silence. Food was always a good distraction. Sakura stood and left towards the kitchen, swinging her hips in an effort to gain Sasuke's attention; he didn't even spare a glance. It was then just the two of us, Sasuke and I. Awkwardness still buzzed around the room like that pesky fly.

"Pretty lame assignment…" I said quietly, in an effort to strike up a conversation.

"Hn," was the response. I _think _it was an agreement. I waited a few seconds, took a deep breath, and continued.

"It doesn't really have much to do with English class… like he said, we're supposed to get to know each other."

"I've heard a few things from people who have had him already. Apparently, he's a big fan of teamwork, or something."

Okay, so it wasn't the most riveting of conversations. And despite the monotone they were spoken in, at least Sasuke responded with _words_ that time.

Sakura returned a minute later carrying a tray of onigiri that looked as though it had been professionally prepared and arranged artfully. My guess is that they really _had_ been prepared professionally, as there was no possible way for her to do all of that in such a short amount of time. She placed the tray down in front of her on the coffee table and we― including Sasuke, eventually― consumed it fairly quickly. Aside from that utterly fascinating event, nothing was really happening. The three of us watched some mindless TV for a while (anything to fill the silence!) and talked a little bit, though that was mostly between Sakura and I. Well, there were also a few one-sided conversations between Sakura and the blank-faced log that had replaced Sasuke (1). Really, nothing was happening…

That is, until we heard Sakura's mother come down the stairs and open the front door. I looked over at my best friend; she had that glint in her eyes. You know, the one that spells almost certain doom for me or anyone else who happens to hate the schemes of teenage girls. And I do believe Sasuke is a part of that group…

"Sakura, your father and I are going to visit your grandmother," Mrs. Haruno called from the front hall, "Will you be fine here?"

"Yeah, Mom," Sakura called back.

"Okay, then, we'll be home tomorrow night."

Sakura smiled, knowing full well that her parents trusted her beyond anything else I the world.

"Sakura," I said, "Did you know your parents were leaving?"

"Of course I did! And I wanted it to be a surprise." She leaned over to me like she was going to tell me a secret. "I invited Neji." At the sing-songy voice she used to say his name, a pink eyebrow rose suggestively. I coughed and looked away.

Honestly, sometimes I question the sanity of the Haruno family…

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Sometime past midnight. Darkness. Sane people sleeping.

Empty bottles. Spit swapping. And, oh, the nagging question of 'why the hell are we still awake?!'.

Most of the usual gang was there. Temari and Tenten were not, having had "better things to do". Hinata hadn't been able to get out of the house that night, and so Kiba had opted not to come as well. Shikamaru appeared to be asleep with Ino curled up on his lap singing '99 bottles of beer' under her breath between hiccupy giggles. She was currently at number 70, and launched into a fit of laughter when she reached 69. Sakura was sitting between Neji and Lee, evidently trying to force the two boys' lips together. Lee, not having consumed any alcohol, was protesting wholeheartedly. Neji, on the other hand, apparently had a soft spot for Captain Morgan's and had gotten a bit grabby around both the pink haired temptress and the bowl-cut beauty. I expected the trio to launch into a threesome at any moment.

Again, I found myself a sober ship in a sea of drunkards― excluding Lee, of course, but Lee never counted. This time, though, there was someone else sitting equally as uncomfortable on Sakura's living room floor.

Sasuke sat beside me with the same air of discomfort that I guessed I was radiating as well. He'd had even less to drink than I'd had.

As Ino continued to laugh hysterically, one of her feet knocked a not-quite-half-full bottle off of the coffee table. As luck would have it, it spilled all over Sasuke and I. Great. Now we're uncomfortable _and_ wet.

…that was not an innuendo.

At Sakura's giggle and cry of "Oh, Sasuke, your hair is so soft…" while petting Neji's head―he also seemed to be under the impression that he was a broody Uchiha man-god at the moment― the _real _Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave a small scoff of indignation. I sighed, and worked up the courage to speak.

"So, uh, Sasuke… since everyone else seems to be, um… _busy_ at the moment, do you want to… get some air, or something?" After I asked this, he gave one more glance at the tangled mess of drunken teenage bodies that lay on the floor before us.

"Gladly," he replied almost immediately, standing up. I was surprised he accepted my offer, even when it was asked with Hinata-like speech.

A few minutes later, we found ourselves outside of Sakura's house, wandering through her upper-middle class neighborhood in the surreal silence that comes with being out past midnight in such suburban areas. Neither Sasuke nor I made a sound; I because I was unable to think of a thing to say and Sasuke because… let's face it, it doesn't take a team of highly specialized researchers and code crackers to figure out that Sasuke isn't really the talkative type.

Being only the third week of September, the air was still warm, though there was a distinct chill that also comes with being out past midnight covered in still-wet raspberry vodka. The romantic side of me was marveling at the perfection shown in the full moon and bright stars that hung overhead on this clear night. The logical side of me was trying to say that I'd probably had bit more to drink than I'd thought. It was promptly crushed, in favor of Romance.

A while into the silent walk, I heard the sound of a car approaching from behind us, its headlights casting long shadows of our silhouettes in front of us. We turned to find that it was a police cruiser. This didn't concern me much. What were they going to do, arrest us for walking?

"Shit…" I heard Sasuke say beside me, and I seemed to realize the problem a second after he did. Two teenagers, one male and one (seemingly) female, covered in still-wet vodka, wandering around aimlessly in a suburban area where neither of them lived, sometime past midnight.

Something told me that was not a good combination.

Before I knew what was happening, Sasuke had grabbed my hand and pulled me in the direction of one of the many neatly-manicured lawns of a perfectly landscaped yard. Said yard happened to have a tall wooden fence blocking off the front from the back. It was far too tall for me to jump myself, but Sasuke gave me a lift over before vaulting over himself, just as the light from a police flashlight flashed in our direction. He grabbed my hand again and we ran, narrowly avoiding the swimming pool. I think I would have melted at the contact right there, had the situation not required non-gelatinous legs.

We ran for a while, tearing through several more perfect yards, until we were sure that the policeman wasn't following us. Having had enough adventure for one night, we made our way back to Sakura's house― it took a while, since we'd been walking for a while and then running in the opposite direction. Thoroughly tired, I collapsed in my pink-haired friend's front yard and Sasuke soon did the same (though in a much more dignified manner). I looked up at the sky and realized that it was getting light already. It must have been farther past midnight than I thought.

"So much for sleeping…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Yeah," I laughed, "Well any sleep gotten at one of Sakura's sleepovers is usually caused by passing out drunk." He smiled the slightest bit.

"You sound like you don't really like it when she does this," he observed.

"I don't really," I said, "But I go anyway and pretend to. I guess I'm like an extra pair of eyes― sober eyes― for if anything happens."

He stayed silent, and seemed to be absorbing that statement. It was quiet for a while; the sky was getting lighter by the minute.

"So… what do you think we should write about tonight for the project?" Sasuke asked after a long time.

"About how incredibly perfect and fun it was?" I joked sarcastically. In all honesty, I wasn't sure it could get much worse.

It was at that point that the sprinklers in Sakura's yard switched on. We just lay there, soaked through, laughing like it was the best thing that had ever happened. Because, at the same time, I wasn't sure it could get much better.

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When I got home later that day― I'd been sure to tell Iruka a later pick-up hour this time― all I could think about was Sasuke's laugh. It was so deep and surprising… and I hadn't heard him laugh in a long time. He was always so dark and expressionless; it was refreshing to see him laughing. It reminded me of when we were kids…

I bet you're wondering, now, about how I knew Sasuke. Truthfully, I've known him for years, but he just doesn't remember the old me. I met him way back in first grade, when I first transferred to Konoha Elementary. Back just before everything started…

_I was scared and anxious and excited. We'd moved to Konoha in July, but I had yet to make any friends; there weren't any kids in my neighborhood for me to play with. So now that I was starting school, I hoped I would be able to make some friends. I'd been bullied a little at my previous school because I was the youngest in the class― the cut-off month was November, and I'd been born just before that, in October. It was a little strange, though, to be starting school now, in September, when everyone had already been going for a while before the summer break (2)._

_I was holding my dad's hand all through the halls of Konoha Elementary school. It was a lot bigger and much more confusing than my old school. I still remember how my dad's hand felt― large and comforting. I'll never forget that. But I knew, eventually, I'd have to let go in favor of the "big boy" world that lay beyond the door to the first grade classroom. After a little persuasion on his part to talk me out of "changing my mind" about going to school and becoming a hermit for the rest of my life, he opened the door and encouraged me to walk inside._

_I think I interrupted something― story time, was it? But the teacher was kind and he smiled at me as I entered. I looked apprehensively back at the doorway. My dad smiled one of our family's trademark grins and made a pushing motion with both of his hands to encourage me. I reflected the smile and turned back to my new teacher._

"_You must be the new student," said the teacher, "You can call me Iruka-sensei. Why don't you introduce yourself to the class?"_

"_Sure!" I said, nervous but enthusiastic. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I used to live in Tokyo, but we moved here a little while ago. I like ramen!"_

_After a little laughter and a chorus of "Hi, Naruto!" I took a seat on the rug that everyone else was sitting on for story time. I was sitting next to a boy with pale skin and raven black hair; the perfect example of someone of the Japanese nationality. When Iruka was finished telling a story about a duck who everyone hated or something like that, we had time to just do whatever we wanted. The brown haired teacher went over to the doorway, where my dad was still waiting. I took that time to introduce myself to the boy I was sitting next to._

"_Hi!" I said, "I'm Naruto." He smirked at me (as 6-year olds often do)._

"_I know, you just told everyone that." I scrunched up my eyebrows, pouting a little._

"_My mommy said that if you want to learn someone's name, you have to tell them yours first."_

"_Well, if you have to know, my name is Uchiha Sasuke."_

_I thought for a second._

"_You mean like the ones that own the Sharingan Company?"He nodded proudly._

"_My dad runs the company."_

"_Oh… well, my dad runs Hokage Inc. That means our dads are business rivals! That doesn't mean we have to hate each other, though."_

"_Yeah, I guess you're right."_

"_Hey!" I was gaining confidence as the conversation progressed. "Wanna be friends?"_

"_Sure, why not? Come on, I'll show you my favorite game…"_

I awoke, realizing, at some point during my reminiscing, I'd fallen asleep. I was in my room, at least, though. I sighed. Sasuke had been so much happier then. What could have changed him so much?

I sat up, realizing I didn't have any clue about what Sasuke's life was really like. I had gone through something big… perhaps he had, as well? And I didn't even know what Sasuke enjoyed doing or even his basic likes and dislikes (beyond his annoyance at fangirlism).

I was actually glad, then, that he was in my group for this project. It gave us the chance to regain the friendship we once had…

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1. LOG'D! Kawarimi at its finest…

2. The school year in Japan starts in the spring. I'm not sure about elementary school… but I'm just going to assume they do the same thing as middle and high school.

So… the flashback was… awkward, to say the least. It just occurred to me that I've never written a first-person flashback in which the character was any younger than 12. I wasn't really sure if I should dumb down the writing or not… But anyway, we get to see that 5-year-old Naruto is similar to the Naruto from early canon.

I can't remember or find if I mentioned Iruka's occupation. I always planned on having him be a teacher for some of the very young grades, but I don't know if I mentioned specifically which one. So, let's just say it's first grade.

Maybe I mentioned _this_ before, but… I don't drink. Ever. Never have, and I'm undecided if I ever will. So all references to alcohol come out of my already messed-up mind, with no actual experience. Any brand names or drink types come from TV.

I realize that the characters act OOC a lot of times. If I didn't do that, then Sasuke and Naruto/ko would never get together, because Sasuke is a cold bastard. So anyone annoyed by how slow the relationship is moving? Oh well! I'm not one to rush things. Relationships have to take time…

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	5. Naru Exposed

***********This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

**Warnings: **A scene of _near _rape is involved in this chapter, though it is not graphic as no "acts" are actually preformed. Also: I hate homophobes, but they exist and as such are present in this story. So I'm just warning about some of the themes that go along with that. Besides, one of the things that kind of bugs me about a lot of yaoi stories (both fanfictions and actual manga alike) is that everyone is so accepting. As sad as it is, that's not usually what happens.

Things will get worse before they get better.

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**Last Time:** _I sat up, realizing I didn't have any clue about what Sasuke's life was really like. I had gone through something big… perhaps he had, as well? And I didn't even know what Sasuke enjoyed doing or even his basic likes and dislikes (beyond his annoyance at fangirlism)._

_I was actually glad, then, that he was in my group for this project. It gave us the chance to regain the friendship we once had…_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 5: Naru Exposed **

I stared at Sakura; she was staring at Sasuke, and he was staring intently into his book. He was obviously not reading, and getting more annoyed by the second.

"What?" he growled, looking up at her finally.

"You're just so cute when you read," she giggled playfully. I rolled my eyes. So _that's _what she was doing. Though she was right, he _did _look cute when he was reading…

I looked around the cafeteria from the windowsill where we were currently seated. For many groups, Kakashi's assignment, now three weeks into it's time, was having effects no one would have thought possible. Ino was paired with Shikamaru and his friend, Chouji. Their personalities were all nearly opposites, but they seemed to be getting along great. At the moment, they were chatting with Asuma-sensei, the health teacher (an ironic position in my opinion, considering he was a chain smoker that could barely go a full class period without a cigarette break). Hinata and Kiba were with a really quiet kid who always wore sunglasses and a turtleneck sweater, no matter what the weather was like― I think his name was Shino. Kurenai-sensei, a music teacher, seemed to be trying to get him to get rid of something he had caught under a cup… I'm pretty sure it was a beetle.

I turned back to my own group, where Sakura was still staring longingly at Sasuke and he was still unsuccessfully trying to read. We were sitting on the windowsill, as we had begun to nearly everyday. Sasuke was not a big fan of sitting with Ino― sitting with one fangirl was bad enough, I suppose.

"So, Sasuke…" Sakura began, her voice having more than just a touch of the tone in which someone speaks when they are planning something devious. He glanced up at her in minimal acknowledgement of her vie for his attention. She took it as her cue to continue. "It's Friday again. We've already been to my house… so whose house are we staying at tonight?"

I could tell what she was going for. Of course she wanted it to be at Sasuke's― she was one of the few people who'd actually been to my apartment. And it was nothing special after all.

I looked over at Sasuke, and discovered that he was looking at me as well. It was obvious that neither of us wanted to host a sleepover at our house. For nearly a full minute, we were locked in a silent battle of "who's going to volunteer first?" with no signs of either of us making any move to agree. It seems as though, for that moment at least, my resolve was just slightly stronger.

"Mine," Sasuke said resignedly after quite a while. "You two can come to my place tonight." As the handsome black-haired boy turned back to his book, my pink-haired best friend pumped her fists in a silent fangirlish display of utter joy. Yes, the very same victory dance that I was doing in my mind at that very moment.

Before another word was spoken, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. Sasuke slung his bag over his shoulder and left without a further glance back at us. As Sakura skipped happily back over to Ino with a wave of departure in my direction, I turned my attention to the pile of my stuff that was on the floor near where my feet had been when I was sitting. I crouched down and carefully packed everything up in a meticulous manner, keeping my head low and stalling as long as I could. There was a reason for this, after all. I was sure that, if I were to look up now, anyone who glanced in my direction would catch me with the wide, goofy grin that had taken unrelenting control of my face.

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Sakura and I waited at the front steps of the school with our bags for staying over Sasuke's house that night. Luckily, Iruka had offered to bring us back after we'd packed our things (Sakura, oh-so-conveniently, already had a bag ready to go, and only had to run into her house to get it). Sasuke was due to meet us here any minute. To pass the time, Sakura was spouting out fantasies of what she imagined Sasuke's house― which was _sure_ to be a lavish mansion with only the finest decoration and a hot tub in every bedroom, apparently― to be like.

The raven-haired boy arrived soon, walking towards us with his hands in the pockets of his dark jeans. I wished I'd thought of changing out of my school uniform as he and Sakura had, though I wouldn't have had time to change anyway. But they both looked so cool in their styled street clothes!

Flicking her pink hair behind her shoulder, she approached him. "So Sasuke," she said in her best flirting voice, "Where's your car?"

He rolled his eyes slightly and told us to follow him in response. As we did so, Sakura whispered to me all her ideas about what type of car her must drive― it simply _had_ to be something high-end and Italian, like a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Anything less just wouldn't be good enough for Uchiha Sasuke.

I shrugged like I had when she had been telling me her ideas about his house― which, naturally, _had _to have several home theater systems, in addition to all those hot tubs. Everyone had heard of the Uchiha, and the lifestyle that was associated with that family name. The Sharingan Company, which was now the leading designer and manufacturer of technology for national defense, had made the family one of the richest in Japan. As such, they were often targeted by criminals, but it was rumored that the family had the entire police force in their control.

A thing my family didn't have.

I was far too young to know exactly what being from the Uzumaki family meant― as that was the name I'd had before adopting my new life― but what I learned much later showed me what someone would scarcely believe if I told them my life story. Hokage Inc., the company my father owned for a time, had been the premier source of defense technology, and the Uzumaki name had been synonymous with the lifestyle others only dreamed about. After my parents' deaths 9 years previous, however, the company had quickly gone bankrupt. It was now headed by a kind old man that had run the company before my father, whom I treated like my grandfather when I was really little. It had been bought up, though, and was now a subsidiary of Sharingan. It had never bounced back from the bankruptcy.

What about my parents' deaths? Well, that goes full-circle to not having the required protection for a fortune as large as my family had. In the end, moving from the big city of Tokyo to the much smaller Konoha was not enough.

I became aware that we had already crossed the length of the student parking lot that was located at the back of the school. I exchanged a confused look with Sakura as we exited the lot through the back entrance. We turned onto the street and kept walking.

"Maybe he doesn't park at school," she whispered to me, looking thoroughly disconcerted. I didn't think so. The school parking lot was a much safer place to park than anywhere on the street, so why would Sasuke leave his presumed Italian sports car somewhere else during the school day? I couldn't shake the odd feeling that had settled in the pit of my stomach.

We walked a bit farther until we reached the next street corner, where there was a metal bench surrounded by a partial plastic roof; a bus stop. Sakura looked disturbed at the thought that the Great Uchiha Sasuke would even consider public transportation. Quietly enough so that he wouldn't hear it, though I couldn't be sure if he did or not, Sakura suggested that, perhaps, Sasuke cared about the environment and didn't bother with driving his own fancy car to school. After all, environmental-friendliness was very popular among the rich these days. When applied to Sasuke, however, the theory didn't sound believable.

Soon into the bus ride, I realized I knew where we were headed. We were now in a neighborhood within walking distance of my own. All the buildings in the neighborhood were made up of apartments that were of the same quality level as the one that I lived in. I wondered if Sasuke lived around there or if we were just going to change buses or something. I looked at Sakura. Her face revealed that she was thinking something along the same lines as me. Sasuke, however, remained as stoic as ever.

After a short walk from the bus stop― which showed us, yes, this really was our destination― we entered one of the numerous apartment buildings and started walking up the stairs that were immediately in before the front door, following Sasuke the entire time. After climbing several flights of stairs, during which we passed long halls that branched off the landings but never went down one, Sakura turned to give me a slightly exasperated look.

"Um, Sasuke," she began gingerly, as if questioning something the Great Uchiha Sasuke was doing was a crime punishable by his (increased) hatred, "How many floors are we going up? We keep passing the doors to an elevator…" It was true. We were at another landing, now. Opposite of the long hallway was a single set of old-looking elevator doors. On this particular floor, the doors had been covered with graffiti, some of which some hopeful person had attempted to paint over with a plain color. It seems as though the fight to cover the layers of messy signatures and obscene thoughts scrawled on the doors had been lost, though, and the plain patches were continuously being swallowed up by the masses of spray-paint surrounding them. I shivered upon reading a message that someone had written, declaring that "all faggots should get AIDS and die" and turned away from the doors as we continued our trek up the stairs.

"They're out of order," he said without breaking his stride or revealing any emotion in the words.

We reached the seventh landing, the final in the building, as the next staircase was blocked off by a door labeled "roof", and turned down the hall to continue walking. We reached the end of the hall, where there were two doors across from each other, and a small, dusty window between them that was so encrusted with filth I couldn't tell what lay beyond it. Sasuke took out his keys and opened the door on our left; apartment 7f. Once inside, he threw his bag and keys down on a small table that was to the left of the door. Sakura and I followed him in and paused to take in the whole picture.

The place was clean, almost overly so, with pure white walls that enhanced the feeling. It was sparsely decorated, the only furniture being a slightly worn-looking sofa situated before a small TV on a shelf, a bookcase lined with numerous titles, and the small table beside the door, which had two wooden chairs tucked in against it. I realized that this table served as the kitchen table as well, as it was part of the pseudo-kitchen that lay to the left of the door. The kitchen had only the bare essentials; a sink, a stove, a microwave and a small fridge. Directly across from the entrance, there was a door I assumed went to Sasuke's room, and another that went from the kitchen area into what I presumed to be the bathroom. There was only one window in the room, placed to the right of the sofa. Not much light entered through it, as it didn't face an expanse of open air, but rather the narrow alleyway that separated Sasuke's apartment building from the identical one beside it. The window was framed by a dark, heavy curtain that was such a somber shade of blue-grey it made the dim light from the window look all the dimmer.

It was a surprise to find Sasuke's apartment to be this way― not only because his reputation would have suggested otherwise, but also because the apartment had an overall lonely feeling about it. It seemed as though the place was not actually lived in by anyone; it was too blank and too clean, devoid of any personal touches, save for the choice of books in the single bookcase. Recovering from this surprise fairly quickly, I turned to look at Sakura. She looked as though she couldn't comprehend that this was where Sasuke lived. It inspired a bit of pity in me to see all of her illusions shattered in a single instant― then I remembered the nature of her assumptions to begin with, and didn't feel quite as bad.

For her anyway.

My feelings at that moment were mixed. My own apartment was similar in size, though slightly larger as it had to accommodate both Iruka and I. Unlike Sasuke's, however, it _did_ have those personal touches that transformed the space from an apartment to the place in which I lived. I never realized how important they were until that moment.

And I found myself no longer ashamed of where I lived. Here was an equal; he did _not_ live in a fantastically unbelievable mansion out of Sakura's fairy tales, but in a one-bedroom apartment in neighborhood that was not the greatest part of town. I could identify with him― and at the same time, I sorely wondered what had happened to the seemingly rich boy to find him living in such a place.

Silently, as had been the pattern with him in the past hour― he hadn't said a word since we left the school, save to tell us that the elevator was broken― Sasuke took a seat in one of the wooden chairs at the table. Released from her momentary catatonic state, Sakura gladly took the other chair. I scratched my neck nervously, standing awkwardly as the two of them occupied the only two chairs available. Before I had the chance to say that I would be fine standing, Sasuke stood, indicated that I should take his chair, and disappeared into his room. He reappeared about a few seconds later with a metal folding chair in tow. He seated himself down in said chair without a word, and leaned back with his arms folded and his face blank.

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The rest of the night passed in much the same manner, and nothing of consequence occurred. We worked on the project a bit more, but mostly sat in awkward silence, only talking about topics for the assignment and nothing further. We went to bed fairly early, Sakura having run out of other topics to attempt to spark a conversation with.

The next thing I knew, I was waking up on a fold out couch, disoriented and confused of my surroundings. I blinked for a minute or two before fully realizing where I was. I turned my head to see Sakura beside me, still asleep and breathing softly. Beyond her, Sasuke was awake and sitting at the table, reading the daily newspaper with a look of disinterest. He'd, naturally, spent the night in his own room while Sakura and I slept on the sofa. The door was obviously locked, eliminating any plans Sakura may have had for some nighttime room-raiding or anything else she may have planned.

I got up and stretched, making sure my orange pajamas were still in place and not revealing anything (and still as cute-looking as possible, of course). I walked over to sit by Sasuke at the table.

"Good morning," I yawned cheerfully.

"Hn," was all I was met with. I pouted slightly, but didn't say anything else. We sat like that for a while, Sasuke reading the paper and I looking around the room again, trying to take all of it in. Sakura started to stir and sat up a bit later.

"Do you want something to eat or something?" Sasuke asked us resignedly as Sakura came to join us, still half asleep and looking cross.

A bowl of cereal and some early-morning crabbiness courtesy of Sakura― who, I had discovered a long time ago, was not the most pleasant of people in the morning― the three of us were settled in again into the pattern from the previous night; no one spoke of moved, we just sat there in silence. It was at that point that I actually bothered to look at the clock. By then, it was 12:30. Sakura's mother had wanted her home by 12:00.

Just as this fact apparently dawned on her, her cell phone rang. She jumped at the volume of the ringtone― some pop song that had been playing on the radio nonstop lately― and hastily answered it.

"Hi mom― yeah― yeah, I know― no! …Mom! …ugh, fine― I said fine! I'll be home soon. Yeah. Bye." The cell phone was shut with that characteristic snap, and then opened again a second later for a frantic call to Ino who, we knew, was staying not far from where we were, at Chouji's house in the Konoha suburbs. Then, after a flurry of belonging-gathering and some well-placed swears, Sakura was gone at the honking of Ino's car outside. Blinking at the speed she'd disappeared at, I suddenly realized that I was alone with Sasuke.

"So. Do you have a ride?" he asked. For a second, I thought it was because he was trying to get rid of me so fast. But the slight change in his expression told me that it was because Sakura had just seemingly abandoned me here. I shook my head no.

"I was going to call Iruka for a ride, but I live closer to you than I thought I would. It's only a few minute's walk, actually…" Sasuke raised an eyebrow slightly in what I took in mild surprise. I felt awkward again, then. "Um, I can leave now if you want…" I added, feeling odd.

"It's alright," he said after a pause, lifting up the newspaper to study the page again (his eyes weren't moving across the article, though, and I wondered if he was just pretending to read). I blinked. That didn't really clarify things.

"…what?"

"You can stay longer if you want." He lifted up the paper then, so I could no longer see his face. I was grateful for that, though. It meant he wouldn't be able to see the bright blush on my face.

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I was floating somewhere up in the clouds, high above the slightly dirty streets and dark apartment buildings that my body was currently walking through. Sasuke had asked me― me! —if I wanted to come back the next day. He'd seen my struggles with writing the entirely English paper and, while it wasn't exactly the reason I would have wanted him to invite me over, he'd offered to help me write it. I'd been embarrassed at first, but I happily agreed.

I was walking to Sasuke's house, still amazed at how close we lived to each other. It was getting dark, and even though it wasn't the safest neighborhood, I wasn't worried. His apartment wasn't far from where I was.

I looked down at my outfit. It had taken much of the morning to pick it out, as I wanted it to be perfect. This time when I was at Sasuke's apartment, I wouldn't be wearing our fairly unflattering school uniform. Instead, I wore my favorite shirt. It was a button-down blouse in bright orange (my favorite color, of course) and I wore a black tank top underneath it and a light jacket on top, as there was a bit of a chill in the air. I wore my favorite skirt with it, a jean one that was, well, _short_ I suppose, but nothing I couldn't get away with. I internally assured myself that I looked good in he outfit, despite the nervousness I was feeling.

A man with pale bluish hair kept back by a black bandana approached me with an inviting smile.

"You look nervous," he said conversationally, "Are you lost?"

"No," I answered as cheerfully as I could, "I'm just going to my friend's place. It's not far."

"Well there are some dangerous people around this area. Allow me to escort you to your destination," he offered.

"You're very kind," I said with a smile, accepting the offer. He looked like a very nice and trustworthy man with a relaxed posture and an appealing face.

"My name's Mizuki," he introduced himself.

"Naruko," I replied.

We started passing the alley way just before Sasuke's apartment, when Mizuki suddenly grabbed me and dragged me down it. The action took a few seconds to reach my brain, and I was too shocked for the moment to scream. Those few seconds were all he needed to pull me to the end of the dark alley, where two more men were waiting, looking me over in a way that made me shiver. At once, I realized what was happening and I cried out for help. Immediately following the cry, Mizuki released me and pushed me towards the two men. As I fell, I knocked over two trash cans that were standing in the alley, making the loud crashes reverberate off the dark brick walls.

When I screamed again, one of the men stuffed a wadded up piece of fabric in my mouth as a gag. I was being held down on the ground of the alleyway now by the other unidentified man as the one who had gagged me pulled off my jacket and threw it to the side. Mizuki was beginning to run his hands up my legs, ignoring me as I tried to jerk away. I closed my eyes to unsuccessfully try to block it out.

I soon felt my shirt ripped open, the buttons of the blouse flying off violently. My tank top was being lifted then, cold air hitting the spiral scar that ran around my navel. Tears were leaking out from behind my eyelids, and there was now stopping them. Nor did I make the effort.

Then there was a pause in the groping. It seems as though the men had just found out what I never wanted anyone to know. I opened blurry eyes in time to see them recoil in shock and revulsion. That's when the yelling started.

"Gross little queer!"

"The disgusting fag tricked us…"

"People like him should just die."

Upon that last one, I began to fear what they would do to me next. It seems as though that wasn't a threat, but just a statement of "fact" as the graffiti on the elevator door had been. Knowing there would be no ill-gotten score for them in this particular alleyway, the men simply walked away in disgust, leaving me lying there on the cold floor of the alley. With my hands now free, I pulled the gag from my mouth, but made no effort to sit up just yet. Their words echoed around my mind, scathing me as they drifted. In my head, I laughed bitterly. These men had _just_ tried to gang rape an underage girl, and yet had acted as though _I_ were the one doing something morally wrong by not being that girl in the first place. The irony was so thick, it burned my throat.

I looked up, my eyes still blurred with hovering tears, to see a dark-haired figure running quickly down the fire escape that was above me. I didn't know who it was, but I knew I didn't want them to find me in such a way. I sat up and pulled my shirt closed, securing it with a hand and glancing around at all the buttons from it that had ripped off and scattered around me on the ground. With gravity now as an influence, the tears dripped down my face as I silently tried to collect myself. I heard the sound that whoever was running down the fire escape made as they jumped to the ground but didn't look over, until I heard them shout.

"Naruko!"

I looked up, surprised now. Sasuke was running towards me with an expression I couldn't see through the blurriness. His voice sounded worried, though. As he got closer, a shudder ran through me.

The tears fell harder.

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A few minutes and many stairs later found us in Sasuke's apartment. I barely remembered climbing the seven flights of stairs required to reach his living space, as I believe I did no in a state of numb shock. The tears had stopped, and I was sitting shakily on the couch. Sasuke brought me a glass of water, looking uncomfortable.

"Thank you," I whispered in a hoarse voice, finding my usual falsetto hard to maintain. He nodded slightly, taking a seat beside me on the couch.

"This isn't the safest neighborhood," he said quietly. He wasn't looking at me. There was silence for a moment as I sipped carefully on the water and attempted to control my jagged breathing. Soon, it was too much. I had to ask.

"Um… Sasuke. How much did you see?"

There was a pause.

"Well, I heard someone yelling and a loud crash, so I looked out to find out what it was. I saw them on you, so I ran down as soon as I could…" he trailed away, looking at me now with a tiny trace of guilt that suggested he was angry for not being fast enough.

My heart was pounding nearly as hard as it had been when Mizuki grabbed me. I needed to find out; did he know what I was?

"Sasuke, I―"

"You're a boy, aren't you?"

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Cue evil cliffhanger!

Yes. I know. It's evil.

Fear not! Next chapter will contain many, many explanations. Plus, things should start picking up soon, plot-wise.

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	6. The Not So Upbeat Tale of Uchiha Sasuke

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

Finally, a chapter where Naruto acts more like the real one (you know… loud, annoying, not so OOC). Sasuke on the other hand… well, he was taking too long, so I had to hurry him on a bit.

**Warnings: **uh… language. I was in the mood.

And hooray for learning Sasuke's past!

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**Last Time:** _My heart was pounding nearly as hard as it had been when Mizuki grabbed me. I needed to find out; did he know what I was?_

"_Sasuke, I―" _

"_You're a boy, aren't you?"_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 6: The Not-So-Upbeat Tale of Uchiha Sasuke**

I was frozen. My brain had utterly stopped.

As my mind struggled to process the blunt accusation, I became vaguely aware of the glass of water still clutched in my hand. It was tipping dangerously, now, and would probably spill everywhere if I didn't reign myself in soon.

"That isn't a nice thing to say to someone, you know," I said, trying to keep my voice light in an effort to distract Sasuke from what he seemed to already know. He raised a dark eyebrow.

"Well…?" he asked, prompting a response. I put the glass down on the small table beside the couch and pulled my ripped shirt tighter to my chest.

"It isn't like that's a normal question, now is it?" I continued. The distraction wasn't working. I shook a bit, staring straight ahead as I attempted to come up with a way out of this. I couldn't lie; my voice was shaking so badly already that even a half-truth would have caused an obvious tremor.

"No it isn't. But I'm right, aren't I?" His voice was as flat as it always was, as if he didn't care one way or the other. But he must have… why would he ask so insistently if he didn't? I kept my mouth shut, and studied the pattern of the carpet near the far wall. "Well…?" he prompted again. Slowly, I turned towards him and held his eyes for a second. He didn't _seem _to be harboring any bad intention, but I couldn't really be sure. I'd take the chance, though. Reluctantly, I nodded a miniscule 'yes' to his massive question. His eyes widened the tiniest bit, but his face did not transform to anger, as I had expected anyone's to upon the telling of my secret. But Sasuke was so often blank and stoic, maybe he really was angry and I just couldn't see it… Yes, that must have been it. I lowered my gaze to the side and waited for the angry words to come.

Instead, I was met with a brief and thoughtful silence, and then another question that threw me off guard.

"Why?"

I stared at him questioningly. Why? Who the hell asks _why_ upon finding out the person sitting on their couch is really a transvestite? It's not like that that's exactly an everyday occurrence. And I could think of many better things to say in that situation than _why_.

"What do you mean 'why'!?" I asked indignantly, voicing my frustration.

"Why are you a boy who dresses like a girl?" he said, only extending his question in words, but not in meaning. He had a slight smirk on his face now, with one dark eyebrow raised in a somewhat teasing manner.

"I just am, idiot!" I exclaimed heatedly, sorely wondering how the conversation had quickly turned from fear of him being angry at me, to my anger directed at him. "And… and I don't care if you think it's wrong!" He blinked at me a few times, a calm and cool expression still on his face.

"Why would I?" he asked, as if the idea was entirely foreign― as if _I_ were the idiot. I glared back defiantly, waiting for him to insult me or turn away. He didn't.

"Bastard," I mumbled after the pause, seemingly to his surprise. "You're making fun of me." He rolled his eyes. It didn't help make me any less angry. "You are! How can you― I," I took a deep breath, turning away as I said the next words, "I really liked you, you know."

There was another stretch of silence, and then, "You like me?" His tone was unreadable.

"Liked. Past tense, jackass," I sniffed, damning my uncontrollable blush.

Yeah, I was probably lying to myself. Of course I still liked him― it's not as if infatuation just fades away that quickly. But now that he knew my secret, how could I possibly think I still had a chance with him? Then again, I may not have had a chance in the first place.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a sound seldom heard. The first and last time the musical sound had graced my ears had been just over a week previous, during our late-night adventure of evading the police car. This rare and elusive sonic occurrence was among those great wonders of the world, experienced only by a chosen few.

Uchiha Sasuke was _laughing_.

It was not the type of laugh someone would give if they were finding amusement in another person's pain; there was no sign within his laugh that he was making fun of me. It sounded more as though… as though he were laughing at a joke he'd just remembered. The brief display of his amusement ended as he dragged a hand down his face in an exasperatedly bemused expression.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked, still angry though the tone of the laugh had calmed me a bit.

"No," he responded, "At myself." He then mumbled a bit more, a hardly distinguishable line that sounded a bit like, "I can't believe… again…"

I stared at him for a bit longer as he sobered from his self-amusement. A thought was dawning on me. What if he… really wasn't angered or disgusted by me?

"You really… don't care that I'm not normal?" I asked quietly, to which he shook his head a bit. But then another thought hit me, and the words he'd said a moment previous sunk in. "Wait, did you say 'again'?"

He wasn't laughing now, and as he looked at me, his eyes became shadowed.

"Yeah," he whispered with a tone of finality. And, for the moment, that was the end of that. Or rather… he would have liked for it to be the end. He stood and took the half-full glass of water from the table where I'd placed it, turning to walk over to the kitchen area of his apartment. He poured the water into the sink and placed the empty glass on the counter with hardly a sound.

"We're not finished!" I exclaimed. Now that I was curious, I needed to at least know what he was talking about.

"What, you still wanted that?" he asked, "It was half empty and you weren't touching it…"

"What? No, not the water. I mean why… why are you so accepting of this? You don't seem to mind― what I am― at all."

"Should I mind? Did you want me to yell at you?" He was raising that damn, stupid, gorgeous eyebrow again in playful jest. I scowled.

"No... Ugh, I just don't understand you. And tell me what you meant by 'again'! As if you could have known another cross dresser…" It was silent for a moment― a lack of response that left _me _to respond by blinking dumbly in his general direction. "Wait, are you telling me…" I trailed off, not really knowing what I was asking in the first place. He sighed.

"Let's just say I have an odd taste in girls…" he said quietly. The words took a few seconds to register in my brain.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Did you used to have a crush on _another_ girl who was really a boy?" As I said these words, I was hit with another wave of realization. I was quieter when I spoke again, "Wait… then do you like me now?"

He looked at me flatly, both dark eyebrows raised. "Well, aren't we smart today…?" he asked sarcastically. I was too elated at the news to even reply to his teasing. But before I could proceed any farther, I just _had_ to know who else he was talking about.

"Then who was the other one?"

He grabbed one of the chairs tucked under the table and sat down, leaning his chin on one arm that was propped against the table. He looked at me where I still sat on his couch a short distance away, without a hint of fear in his eyes.

"It was a long time ago," he said. I gave a vague gesture with my hands to prompt him to move on. I wasn't going to interrupt him with words, in case it meant he'd stop telling me this story. "When I had just turned 13, I went with my family to our summer home (1). It was on Wave Island and we went there every year. For some reason this year was different, though. Usually our vacations were fun… Wave has a lot of boardwalks and beaches, and it's really warm since it's pretty far south." I nodded, slightly remembering a similar trip to Wave that I'd gone on sometime during elementary school. "That year, though…

"Well, my parents were busy with work all the time. It didn't matter that we were on vacation, nothing could tear them away from doing things 'for the good of the company'." His voice has the slightest bit of scorn behind it, but I didn't comment on that. "And my older brother, Itachi, was supposed to be with me at the beach. There's an age gap between us, though, so he was already of legal age. He dragged me out to bars instead of the beach. One of these times, I got sick of watching him drink and fool around with random girls, so I took off on my own.

"I'd been wandering around that boardwalk for a while and I started to get hungry. I passed a takoyaki booth and just couldn't resist the smell of these fried tomatoes they were making in there…" For a moment, he seemed lost in the rapture of the memory of the food.

"Tomatoes?" I asked with a snicker, forgetting about my resolve to not interrupt, but pulling him back for a moment.

"Shut up," he said, a light dusting of a tomato-like color gracing the bridge of his nose. But he continued, "So I went into the stand to order some, and there was this girl working there. I ended up never getting any food, and asking her out instead. Even though she was a little older than me― about 14 or 15― she agreed to go with me when her shift ended.

"So Yuki and I― Yuki was the name that she first told me― went out then and a few times over the next week. Then one day, we were walking on the beach together and we came to this area where the rocks separated a small alcove from the rest of the beach. And when we were sitting, she leaned in close like we were going to kiss... Well, kiss again… But instead, she just looked at me and said 'You know, Sasuke, Yuki isn't my real name. It's really Haku.' Obviously, this confused me. Why would she tell me a different name? And Haku is usually a boy's name, but I wasn't really concerned, since it could be for a girl as well. But I asked her about this and she just kept looking at me. Then she said 'It's simple; I'm really a boy.' And then she just smiled, waiting."

I became aware that my mouth was hanging open slightly from being so interested and amazed at Sasuke's story. It also occurred to me that Sasuke was still referring to Haku as 'she'. This was how I would have wanted it― he really seemed to know how to deal with this kind of thing.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, at first it was strange… It's not something every 13-year-old would encounter. But… I told her I didn't care, and kissed her anyway. I may have thought I was lying at the time, but I realized later that I really_ didn't _care. If anything, it made me like her more."

It was strange to sit there listening to Sasuke talk about a former girlfriend― well, boyfriend technically. But I was still interested in what happened.

"I pretty much went to that takoyaki stand every day after that. Eventually, Itachi found out that I was sneaking away from the bar and coming back only when I knew it was time to go back to our beach home. I don't think he really minded, since I was leaving him alone, but I guess he knew I was going to see a certain person. Then one time, on a rare night that we were all out to dinner together as a family, I accidentally mentioned Itachi's habit of going to bars everyday. To my parents, Itachi was their golden child. To find out he went out drinking and flirting everyday came as a shock to them. So to get back at me, he revealed my daily visits to 'the takoyaki girl'. They forbade me from ever going to see her again… Ironically, they never knew she was a boy. They just called her too 'common' for an Uchiha. Itachi actually let me see her one more time, though. I told her what had happened and that, if we wanted to, I could run away with her."

"That didn't happen though, obviously…" I commented.

"No… it was only then that she told me that, while she did like me, she was already involved Zabuza, the owner of the takoyaki stand. She liked me, but she _loved_ him."

"Oh," I breathed. I couldn't think of anything to say to that.

"But even after we came back to Konoha, my experience with Haku made me think. I started noticing the guys at school and that I was attracted to them as much― maybe more― than the girls in our grade."

"So, you're…?"

"Bisexual? I thought so." He laughed a bit again, shortly, and without much humor. "But then again, both of the girls I've ever actually liked have turned out to be boys… Anyway, I wrestled with this for almost a year. Then, too confused to handle it, I made the mistake of confiding in Itachi…" He glared at a spot on the floor, now, reliving a memory that I couldn't see. "And he 'accidentally' outed me to our parents. My father gave me a choice. I could either get rid of my notions about being attracted to boys― he called it a phase, actually, and said no self-respecting Uchiha would ever be such a degenerate― and enter a betrothal to the daughter of a family friend. Or I could get out and not come back.

"I picked the second choice. I'm pretty sure the betrothal had already been arranged for years, they just decided not to tell me. Either way, I knew I couldn't live there anymore and let them step all over me like they had been for nearly 14 years. My father and I had a few choice words and then he disowned me, simple as that― but not before nearly breaking my arm and splitting my lip. I wasn't the heir, anyway, so it's not like he cared…"

As he trailed off, I was overcome with the urge to just go over and hug him. But I was frozen to my spot, and still buzzing with questions.

"And that's how you ended up, well…"

"Here. Yeah, it's obvious from Sakura's reaction that everyone thinks I still live across town in the lap of luxury at the Uchiha estates. I would have been cut off entirely to fend on my own, but I have a savings account that my parents didn't have access to that sustains me now. And I don't need a guardian because someone paid contacts at the police station to look the other way."

There was another small stretch of silence, in which I steadied myself for my next question.

"So… when your father, um, beat you," I started tenderly, "Is that how you got all of those scars?"

His eyes widened for a moment as he looked over at me, but then he seemed to remember that I'd seen him that day at the pool, and relaxed a bit.

"Yeah, most of them," he replied, "Some of them are remnants of my self-battle during that year of confusion I went through…" He paused. "Don't worry, I don't do that anymore."

As he looked at the floor, the urge I felt earlier was now overwhelming. I got up and crossed the small room to him, and pulled him into a gentle embrace. It didn't matter that I was normally a nervous wreck around him, or that this was crossing borders that I normally wouldn't cross (2). He'd opened up to me in a way no one else had ever done.

I owed him the same.

I opened my mouth to start to tell him the whole truth about why I had such an elaborate disguise, but he cut me off before I began, loosely shrugging off the embrace.

"It's pretty dark out now… we should probably get you home."

"Oh? Eh, right."

"Um… your shirt though." I looked down, embarrassingly realizing that my ripped shirt was hanging open. I tugged it shut. "Here, I'll get you a jacket…" ―――――――――――――――――――xxx―――――――――――――――――――――――

We walked silently under the streetlamps, which had flickered on a short while ago. For Sasuke, silence was the natural state of things― I was surprised he'd even talked at all when we were back at his apartment. I, on the other hand, was not in the mood for my usual chatter.

I barely noticed that we'd reached my apartment complex. When we reached the door to mine and Iruka's flat, I had to dig through my pockets to find my key. Before I could even open the door, however, it swung inwards to reveal Iruka looking ready to go out.

"Oh, Naruko," he said, a bit surprised, "You're back a little earlier than I expected. Hatake-san called about having a parent-teacher conference."

"Eh, really!? Am I in trouble…?"

"No, no… I think he just wants to get to know the parents of his students. Well, I left dinner on the counter and― oh, you brought a guest?" He'd just come out of the door enough to see Sasuke, and was now eyeing him with confusion.

"Uh, yeah. You know Uchiha Sasuke…"

"Oh, of course!" Iruka said, his eyes lighting up in recognition. "You're working on that project together, right?" I nodded. "Will you be alright here?" I nodded again and, though he sounded apprehensive, he moved aside to allow us inside. "Okay, I'll be back in an hour or so." In a moment, he was gone, with the door closed firmly behind him.

"Are you aware that my kindergarten teacher is living in your apartment?" he asked jokingly as he surveyed the room. I felt a bit self-conscious that he was seeing where I lived, but… well, now that I knew more about him, it seemed like he should know more about me.

"Oh, ha-ha," I responded with an eye-roll, "And he was my teacher, too, you know."

"He was?" he looked at me questioningly as he sat down on my couch, and I remembered that he didn't realize I was that hyperactive little boy that was his friend in kindergarten. After all, I was only there for about two months.

I nodded. "For a little while, at least. I… had to leave shortly into the year." He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to figure out who I was; the boy I used to be. I sat down on the couch beside him, finally dropping all pretenses. In my natural voice, just slightly deeper than the one I normally used, a said, "Tell me, Sasuke… do you remember Uzumaki Naruto?"

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1. Remember, Sasuke is just a few months past his 16th birthday presently.

2. Zoly Bob! An entirely accidental pun on the already punny title of this story… ha! I'm full of 'em.

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	7. So Help Me God, Yellow Eyes

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

This chapter is weird...

**Warnings: **goriness, not for the faint of heart. And some OOC-ness (because, sometimes, Sasuke needs a little kick to get going!).

_Large blocks of italic text, succeeded and proceeded by two dashes (- -) indicate a flashback and/or scene break within a flashback._

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**Last Time:** _He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to figure out who I was; the boy I used to be. I sat down on the couch beside him, finally dropping all pretenses. In my natural voice, just slightly deeper than the one I normally used, a said, "Tell me, Sasuke… do you remember Uzumaki Naruto?"_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 7: So Help Me God, Yellow Eyes…**

Sasuke never was one to show much emotion. Even so, the reaction was immediate. As if the mentioning of my real name had suddenly brought all of his old memories of me back, recognition swept over his features. His dark eyes widened slightly in interested surprise.

"The son of the Hokage Inc. owners…?" he asked, one thin eyebrow raised. The question seemed more directed at himself than it was towards me.

It figured, though, that what he would recognize would be my family name.

"Oh, right…" I sighed dejectedly, "Yeah."

"No, I do remember you," he amended, "We played together a few times, right? Yeah. I remember being 'rivals' with you. The Uzumaki name just stood out because our parents were rivals, too. Business rivals…"

"Nothing like a good rousing game of 'my dad's better than your dad'," I joked with a feeble laugh. He smiled slightly, but it faded quickly. Oh, right; plenty of fathers were better than Sasuke's. "Sorry," I added.

"Don't worry about it. He's nothing to me now, so it doesn't matter. But… your parents' company went under, didn't it?"

"It's a subsidiary of the Sharingan Company," I said flatly.

"Oh," he responded apologetically.

I didn't like the way the conversation was going. There was too much apologizing, too much fear of stepping over boundaries. I knew the way to remedy that; I promptly let my boundaries down.

"It's fine," I said, "Someone has to own it, I guess… you know, after what happened."

"…what did happen?"

I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the telling of my past. It wouldn't exactly be easy.

"Well, it all started nine years ago. I remember everything about the day…"

_I waved enthusiastically as my dark-haired friend retreated under the guidance of his brother. I continued to wave until I could no longer see his pale arm waving back at me. Now alone, I sat down on one of the swings, kicking my feet through the woodchips below the swing set. The playground was empty. The sky was getting a bit grey towards the horizon of the mid-October sky, dusty with a tinge of reddish color. A slightly chilling wind rustled the treetops, sending the rasping, rattling sound of drying leaves rubbing together echoing around the schoolyard. _

_I pouted. So much for happy birthdays…_

_My parents were supposed to pick me up hours previous, back when the park was full and I was playing with my friends. Back when it was light out. _

_With a sinking feeling, I thought for a second that maybe they'd forgotten me. Was I to be left here forever, all alone? I hoped Iruka-sensei would get back soon. He'd gone back inside a while ago, before Sasuke had left, to get his jacket and keys so he could wait for me until my parents came. Or bring my home if they never showed up._

_I shivered as the wind wrapped around me, moving the swings beside me slightly with the slight clinking of chains and creak of rusted metal. I stared at my feet, making pictures in the wooden ground cover. _

_Soon, I heard the sound of footsteps approaching. I looked up expecting to see my parents, my relief swallowing the anger I had been feeling._

_But it wasn't them. Instead, there was a man with long dark hair. I turned my eyes to the ground again, more angry and worried than before. The footsteps, however, continued to get closer. _

_I became aware that he was standing just a short distance from me. He'd stopped walking._

"_Naruto-kun?" the man said in an oily silk-like voice, prompting me to look up at him again._

"_Yeah," I responded defiantly, "And who are you?" He laughed a little in response._

"_I'm a good friend of your parents." I stiffened at the mention of them. "They were supposed to pick you up, right?" I nodded._

"_They'll be here soon," I said, trying to give a vague warning that I wasn't some helpless kid, left all alone. Even if I was. _

"_Well, that's why I'm here," said the pale man, giving me a wide yet thin smile. "Your parents went to pick up your uncle at the airport. His flight came in later than expected, though, so they told me to come pick you up."_

_I didn't want to look at his face, so I turned my attention to the darkening sky. The man's excuse seemed likely enough… _

_I stood from my swing. "You're sure they'll meet me at home when we get there?"_

"_Of course, they called from the road just a few minutes ago."_

"_Mm… okay."_

_Reluctantly, I went with the longhaired man. We walked to the edge of the school playground, where his car― the dark mass of a black stretch limo― awaited and the two of us climbed inside. Two sharp taps from the slimy man on the darkened divider between the front and back seats set the car into motion. As we began to drive away, I looked back at the school through the tinted windows; Iruka had just emerged from the building. From the look on my teacher's face, I suddenly had the feeling that I'd made a huge mistake in going with the strange man. But it was already too late, as we rounded the corner and sped away down a main road._

_I looked at the man whose offer I had unfortunately accepted. He grinned back at me deviously, his purplish eyelids narrowing. Yellow eyes pierced into me. The limo continued to drive._

_It was dark by the time we reached my house. And, up the winding driveway, the house was just as dark, a black silhouette against an inky blue sky. None of the lights in the house were on. Nervously, I looked at the other occupant of the limo's cabin. He smiled back at me still, as if his expression had been painted on. _

_At the front door, we stopped. The limo driver opened the car door and gestured for me to get out. I did so, and was followed by my companion. We went into the house through the front door; the inside proved it to be just as dark as it had appeared on the outside. _

"_I guess they aren't home yet…" I said nervously, feeling my way around to find the light switch. I was _almost_ tall enough to reach it. Even if I wouldn't be able to, I had to al least try. I didn't like that it was so dark… the house just seemed so creepy, as it never had during the day._

"_It appears so," said the dark-haired man. I could _feel_ the smile in his voice, and it unnerved me. "I guess we'll have to wait here with you." _

_Upon that statement, the door closed with an ominous click behind us, instantly cutting off any light that was coming from the outside. I was starting to get even more nervous. _

"_N-no, that's okay…" I said, backing away a few steps, while still trying to sound brave. "I can wait by myself. You can leave now."_

"_Oh, no, Naruto-kun," said the oily voice from somewhere in front of me, "We really should see to that that you get to your parents safely."_

"_I'm fine alone," I said. I probably wouldn't have been, but I now had the distinct impression that being anywhere but with this creepy man would be much better for my safety. I backed up a bit more, finally reaching the doorway to the house's kitchen. I quickly ducked inside. _

_I was dark in there, too, but I knew my way around the kitchen well, and there were several windows in the room that allowed enough outside light in for me actually to see where I was going. I ran to one of the windows and looked out, hoping to see my parents' car pull up at any time to end my isolation with the snake-like man. After a few seconds, I realized something; their car was already parked in the driveway. My uncle's motorcycle stood behind it. _

_In sudden fear, I whirled around to face the man, only to slip on something wet on the floor. One of my hands swung out to break my fall, connecting painfully with the tile and coating it in the slightly thick liquid I had tripped over. I brought the injured hand towards my face for inspection, and found that the wetness upon it smelled odd, like metal. _

"_Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" the slithering voice asked from the doorway. "You could get hurt running around in the dark like that." His silhouetted arm reached over to the light switch, flicking it on unceremoniously. _

_Whatever I had been about to yell at him instantly died in my throat, where a scream lodged itself as well, not allowing me to release it. My throbbing hand in front of me was coated in a dark red substance, a smeared trail of which also lay on the tiled floor in front of me, leading out the door of the kitchen to the hall beyond. I was covered in it from falling._

"_What a mess…" the dark man said, an amused smile on his face as he came closer to me. He was blocking the entrance to the kitchen. That left only the doorway through which the trail of blood led. Finding it to be the lesser of the two evils― a horrific choice, in all reality― I scrambled to my feet and ran towards it. Down the darkened hallway, a single light from a doorway shone onto the wood floor, wet with the same sticky darkness. It was my father's study, a room that had but one door and only one large window that faced the rear of the house. Despite knowing that there would be no escape once I entered, I followed the gruesome trail as I ran, running into the pool of macabre light. _

_The sight that met me was worse than I ever could have imagined. I had known _something_ had had to have made the trail across the floor, which looked like the remnants of something heavy dragged through blood, but I hadn't been prepared to find that that something had been my mother. She now was being held in a sitting position by a teenager with gray hair in a ponytail and shining round glasses. He had a firm grip on her long red hair and a gleaming knife pressed close to her throat. (1)_

"_Finally," the teenager said, his voice deadly calm, "I've been waiting here for hours."_

_I stared in shock; hours? My mother was bleeding on the floor and he'd been holding her there like that… for _hours_?!_

"_L-let her go…" I said once I'd finally found my voice again. My feeble command seemed to stir her attention._

"_Naruto…?" she asked quietly, turning her head slightly in the grasp in an attempt to look at me. "My little boy… Run away, please!"_

"_Mom, I―" I looked back at the bespectacled boy and repeated, more forcefully, "I said, let her go!" Forgetting my fear for a moment as a protective feeling took hold, I ran towards the boy, hoping to pull his hand away and rescue my mom. I was forced to stop, however, when my action only made him press the knife closer to her neck. _

_Now fully in the room, I could see the entirety of the horrific scene. To my right, on the floor with signs of also having been dragged, my father lay bleeding. He didn't stir when I called to him softly. Beyond him, in the dim light of a desk lamp, my uncle sat with an angry expression on his face, bound to a chair with gleaming and sharp-looking wires._

"_Please, run…" my mother repeated. Her voice was fading. _

"_I'm afraid it's too late for that," whispered a now familiar voice behind me. My spine stiffened; the snake-like man had appeared at my back. His hands gripped around my wrists, pulling painfully on my injured hand. "They'll be no escaping now."_

"_Uncle Kyuubi," I pleaded to him desperately, "What's going on?"_

"_Yes, Fox," said the snake-man, "Why don't you explain?"_

"_I told you!" my fiery uncle hissed, "There's nothing to tell!"_

"_Oh on the contrary… I do believe you have something to explain about the money that you used… stolen, as it were, as that money was not yours _to_ use."_

"_Leave my family out of this, then!" I tentatively looked back up at the man whose grip was tightening by the second. He looked angry for a moment, but then a thin and evil-looking smile wormed its way across his face. He released my injured wrist and reached into his pocket, withdrawing a thin and deadly-looking blade._

"_No, I think using your family will do quite nicely." He drew the blade close to my face and quickly made a slice along my cheek, making me cry out in pain. "In fact, if you don't give us access to the family's bank accounts―" He made another, symmetrical to the last on the other side of my face. "To settle your debt, of course―" Another cut. "Then your sister here and her precious child will…" Another. "Well, I'm sure you can fill in the blanks." With malicious intensity, and showing none of the "care" he'd shown for the previous four cuts, he made two final cuts across the bottom on my cheek, more forcefully than before._

_Kyuubi glared for a moment, then let out a scathingly bitter laugh. "I swear, if you harm Naruto in any way," he growled, "Trust me; you won't be getting a single yen."_

"_Well that is a problem, now isn't it… seems like it's a little late for that, hm? However…" he paused, his smile ever growing. "I also noticed you said nothing about the woman here. Kabuto!"_

_Before I could react, the grey-haired teen― Kabuto, apparently― slid his hand down, and shining knife met with skin. Somehow, I remained rooted to the spot even as the snake-man released me. I stared in wild disbelief. Kyuubi began to trash against his bindings._

_I felt like I was in a tunnel as the next events unfolded. The snake-man, distracted by my mother and staring with a frightening gleam in his eyes as her body fell limp on the floor, did not notice Kyuubi tearing free of the chair. He'd cut his arms badly on the wires in the process, but at least he was free. I felt him scoop me into his arms and shield me as he ran…_

…_directly into the large window connected to my father's study. We crashed through easily, falling the few feet down from the ledge and landing in a heap on the back lawn. Uncle Kyuubi only paused for a second, picking me up again and running towards the driveway. His motorcycle started with a roar of power. _

_In a blur of sound and streetlights, we sped away from the still dark house and into the night. Kyuubi must have asked about a safe place to go― I vaguely remember crying, and shouting something about "The school, the school! I never should have left!". As if I could go back, and it would be as though I had never gone with the snake-man at all. _

_When we got there, the world was a flurry of red and blue lights, and everything around me was too much to take in. I could hear Iruka in the background, saying my name and the word "kidnapped" multiple times. Kyuubi was trying to explain what happened as well, and I could only catch snippets of the conversation he was having with a man in a dark uniform._

"…_bleeding when we left them…"_

"_...still alive?"_

"…_they _were_."_

_And then everything went dark._

Sasuke's eyes were shaded as he looked down towards the floor of my apartment. I became aware that my vision was now slightly blurred around the edges, a painful prickling sensation growing beneath my eyes.

"So then how…?" Sasuke asked softly.

"After that, I had to go into hiding. I lived with Tsunade-baachan and her perverted old almost-boyfriend up north in Hokkaido, but… Well, they knew it still wouldn't be safe. We kind of developed the idea of living in disguise, and I guess it evolved from there. I moved back to Konoha just a few months later as Namikaze Naruko― Iruka homeschooled me for a while before I went back to school. Oh; Namikaze was actually my dad's family name, but he took my mother's name when they got married. She didn't have any interest in running the company, so my grandfather instead chose my father to inherit the company instead, and carry on the name. They wanted to keep Hokage Inc. in the family…" (2)

Sasuke was looking up at me now, an unidentifiable expression in his eyes.

"I don't understand…" he began. For a moment, I feared he wouldn't be able to accept me after all. "Your life… my past pales in comparison to yours. I don't know how you can accept things so easily."

I stayed quiet for a moment.

"…I don't know either," I said, "I just do."

It was Sasuke's turn to stay silent. But as he did so, he looked like he had something that he wanted to say, that he was preventing himself from saying.

"Listen," he said, and his tone of voice made me brace for a rejection. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but…"

"Yeah?"

"Can I… just see you as you?"

I blinked a few times and stared at him straightforwardly. "You mean… as a boy."

He paused, and then nodded. I looked away; he seemed to regret his request, as he then said, "You really don't have to, it was a suggestion…"

"No," I insisted, cutting him off and standing up, "I want to. Just… wait here a second."

Before he could object, I was down the hall and in my room, having quickly escaped from making any awkward eye contact. I closed the door tightly behind be and leaned my back against it for a few rapid heartbeats, taking a few breaths. Tonight sure was a lot to take in…

As I began to change, I realized that I was still wearing Sasuke's jacket, and that my shirt was still ripped beneath it. _That was one of my favorites_, I thought bitterly as a pulled it off, _I hope Iruka will be able to fix it_. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized it was quite strange that my fore frontal thoughts were so calm and mundane, given the situation.

For the first time in nine years, I'd be showing someone not of my immediate loved ones― namely Iruka and Tsunade― what I looked like _out_ of drag. I was vulnerable.

And yet, I trusted Sasuke.

I opened my closet as far as it would go and reached into to far back of it where, just in case (for some reason or another), Iruka and I had chosen to hang a few outfits of boys' clothing. I pulled out the first things I laid my hands on: a white button-down shirt, a pale orange graphic tee, and a pair of dark, baggy jeans.

Once dressed, I felt more awkward than I had even before. My chest felt too flat; my pants, too baggy. I'd pulled my hair into a simple ponytail that just didn't feel pretty enough, and looked at myself blankly in the mirror. Realizing one last problem, I quickly wiped away the layer of makeup dusting my face.

There.

Transformation complete.

I realized with an odd feeling that it had been a long time since _I'd _seen myself this way. With a deep breath, I walked back down the hall to show Sasuke. He'd stayed in the same position on the couch, waiting. When I entered, he looked up in mild surprise.

"Here's your jacket," I said, holding out the item of clothing and handing it to him with little grace. I waited. He continued to give me an intent look. "…well?" I asked, gesturing vaguely to myself. I became suddenly aware that this was the longest time I'd gone without changing my voice in quite a while.

"You… look a lot more like how I remember you." He paused, and then added, "Naruto." The name sounded so strange to hear after so long― but not bad when it was Sasuke who was saying it.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" I asked impatiently.

"It's a good thing," he said, standing up and coming closer. "It's a very good thing."

"But," I argued, "I feel so strange, and… how could I possibly look good this way?"

"Trust me," Sasuke reassured, coming closer still, until his hands were resting on my arms. Now that I had no heeled shoes on, he was a few inches taller than I was. "You do."

I gazed into his dark eyes as his pale form drew closer, until it blurred my vision to do so, and my lids slipped closed. I tilted my head up and leaned in as well, all thoughts gone and using only instinct to guide me. My hands found their way to the back of his neck, where thin, soft hair threaded between my fingers…

My mouth parted slightly, and his gentle lips pressed against my own.

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I think I'll leave you with that image, my little cherubs… Jeebus, I feel like a sappy romance novelist.

1. I feel awful to have typed this part right now, because today (while I'm typing this section) is Mother's Day in the U.S., where I live. I'm sorry, Naru, it had to be done!

2. Just roll with it… I'll explain more deeply later.

Yes, parts of the flashback are kept purposely vague and confusing. These things will be filled in later, as Naru learns about them.

I will give anyone who knows what the chapter title references a giant imaginary cookie (good for all your giant imaginary cookie needs).

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	8. Falling for You

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

Special thanks for this chapter goes to a vagranty friend of mine who, despite being a straight male, is still able to appreciate my fangirlish ramblings and come up with adorable chapter titles. Thanks 'idea fairy' for putting up with my pestering!

**Warnings: **Sasuke's a little OOC when he's alone around Naru… and all around fluffiness, if that's something I should be giving a warning for. :P

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**Last Time:** _I gazed into his dark eyes as his pale form drew closer, until it blurred my vision to do so, and my lids slipped closed. I tilted my head up and leaned in as well, all thoughts gone and using only instinct to guide me. My hands found their way to the back of his neck, where thin, soft hair threaded between my fingers…_

_My mouth parted slightly, and his gentle lips pressed against my own._

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 8: Falling for You**

I honestly don't know exactly how it happened. I'd kissed plenty of people before― it was a side effect of attending too many high school parties with Sakura. But this was different.

Perhaps it was because I'd been waiting for a long time for Sasuke to return what I'd been feeling for him. Or maybe it was the intensity.

It started meekly enough, as if Sasuke was comforting me. But as we stayed there, only innocently probing, a silent desperation began to emerge from his pressing lips, one that probably matched my own. We _needed_ this, somehow.

Something seemed to possess me, and I took the initiative to escalate things. My hands, previously resting loosely in the hair at the back of his neck, now applied pressure, pulling him towards me. He was doing the same with elegant hands that gently pushed our chests together. As he did so, however, my foot caught on the hem of my baggy jeans and forced me forward, tumbling into him. He stumbled back a few steps under the sudden weight, falling back when his legs made contact with the couch. Our lips came apart as I fell on top of him and we lay there stunned for a while.

I was suddenly aware that my heart was beating frantically and that I was shaking a little. I looked down at Sasuke, fearing that he would have second thoughts about me― that I'd freaked him out somehow. But, seeing my look, he let out a small, deep laugh that rumbled against my chest. After a slight eye roll, he leaned his head up to brush against my lips again. Not possessing the energy to get up anymore after such a thoroughly draining day, I simply relaxed against him, resting my head in the crook of his neck, rising and falling along with his even breathing.

At some point, we fell asleep that way.

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In the darkness behind my eyelids, my ears caught the sound of the door latch opening. I furrowed my brow slightly in confusion. I must have fallen asleep on the couch again. But what was I doing before that…? Then I remembered, as the hard but not uncomfortable surface I was laying on _breathed_.

Iruka got the door open just two seconds before I sat up suddenly, shooting my eyes open. He stood by the doorway in shock. I stood up awkwardly, and the quick loss of my presence― or my body heat― must have woken Sasuke up as well. He opened his eyes, looking first at me, then at Iruka, then back at me.

"I should go, shouldn't I…?" he asked, standing up and picking his jacket up from the couch.

"Probably," I answered apologetically. He nodded and walked out, barely sparing Iruka another glance. I became aware of how red my face was at that moment and looked at Iruka awkwardly again. He still looked shocked.

"Um…" I started, "I was―"

"You aren't dressed as a girl," he said, his surprised tone cutting me short, "Even though Sasuke was here."

It was strange; I'd forgotten. I'd been speaking in my natural voice and walking around as my natural self, yet I hadn't even thought anything of it since Sasuke's initial reaction. Which, granted, was a bit…. _distracting_.

"Well… he…" I struggled for words, in the end only making a face to show that I didn't know what to say. Iruka smiled and stepped forward, drawing me into a hug.

"It's fine," he said, "It's good that you trust him so much." I nodded as we pulled away, smiling a little, albeit exhausted. Today was just _such_ a rollercoaster. "However," Iruka continued, suddenly adopting his 'dad' voice, "I think we might want to talk about what the two of you were doing on the couch like that."

I made a face as he stared at me with mock sternness, which quickly gave way to laughter, another hug, and empty threats of The Talk.

Things were really looking up.

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The next week passed quickly, but oddly. I knew that it was unrealistic to expect Sasuke to behave very differently while we were at school, but… well, I was hoping some things would at least be clarified. You see, Sasuke had left my house on Sunday before we had had a chance to establish exactly what our relationship was. Unfortunately, a kiss― even one as amazing as the one he and I had shared― doesn't always make anything solidified. (1)

Sasuke and I― as well as Sakura and everyone else assigned to the project― were too busy doing the individual writing portions of the assignment. We ended not really seeing each other very many times throughout the week, and the only time that we were actually alone for that time was when he came over to help me with the writing. But Iruka had been there and so Sasuke hadn't done anything _but _help me write. When he'd left, I'd still had lingering questions.

Then came the night of the dreaded sleepover. There was no way around it; it was the last week of the assignment and the whole thing was due the following Monday. That meant that, come Saturday, Sakura and Sasuke had to spend the night in my apartment. Luckily, most of the pressure off now that Sasuke already knew my secret (and Sakura was too distracted by him to figure it out herself). Without many questions left to ask each other, we instead did silly things, like watch _Ferris Bueller's Day Off― _which, surprisingly, Sasuke was a fan of, and he joined Sakura and I in shouting out our favorite lines. There was another small incident that night involving the sour sugar left in the bottom of a bag of sour skittles; apparently, Sakura can hold her liquor, but sour things are another, less forgiving, story. Unlike what I had been fearing, it was actually a pretty fun finished off the last details of the project, but other than that, the night was fairly uneventful― a very good thing, I suppose. Sasuke was even acting as if he didn't mind the idea of being friends with Sakura and me. But with her there, Sasuke was even more closed off from me than he had been with just Iruka.

The due date of the project seemed to arrive without warning, though it had been the day that everyone had been dreading. In our English class, everyone was looking anxious during the first ten minutes of class, in which Kakashi was never present. When he did show up― using the excuse that he had gotten lost and somehow ended up at the nearby elementary school― it was everyone's turn to play the "avoid eye contact with the teacher and maybe he won't call on me" game. Teachers always win.

"I can see none of you want to volunteer," he observed casually, "In that case, I'll just pick at random. You'll be graded on a pass or fail scale, based on how well you work as a team. Those of you who fail…. Well, let's just say you don't want to. Now, try to keep your presentations under five minutes. You're really not _that_ interesting…"

From that point on, we just had to suffer through it. Group after group spouted out endless information about favorite colors and number of siblings, accompanied by flashy special effects in the PowerPoint presentations behind them. It all seemed pretty monotonous; I didn't really care that that guy I'd never talked to had two Yorkshire terriers, or that that girl whose math notes I'd borrowed some time in 8th grade made the best bento boxes around.

Finally, it was our turn. We would be the seventh group to go and, considering there were less than ten minutes left of class, the last. I walked to the front of the room with Sasuke and Sakura, holding my note-cards loosely in my hands. After taking a moment to find the file on her flash drive, Sakura had our presentation up and running. I knew ours would be just as boring as everyone else's had been, and I was even almost able to tune out Sakura's portion of the presenting entirely. She was talking about Sasuke, of course― "His favorite color is dark blue because it's such a deep, thought-provoking color" ―and adding little lies here and there to maintain the illusion of grandeur that she and his other fangirls had created for him― "And he cares a _lot _about the environment, so he actually takes a bus to school instead of driving a car" ―which he passively allowed her to do. Then it was Sasuke's turn to talk about me. Now, our project had my undivided attention.

"…and her favorite color is orange, because of its energy," he narrated with little passion. Despite the tone, he often glanced at me with a look that suggested he was about to smile, "And because it reminds her of ramen, which is also her favorite food." I was trying hard not to laugh. When he put it that way, it sounded silly.

When Sasuke was done talking, that left only me to speak about Sakura― an easy enough task, considering how long I'd known her. But I'd only be giving surface details, as everyone else had for the "friends" they'd been assigned to work with. But that was kind of the assignment, right? I mean, Kakashi-sensei _did_ give us a list of sample questions to ask each other…

"…and her favorite color is…" I paused in the middle of my generic description of my best friend. "It's…" What was I doing? Sakura, looking angry despite a large smile painted across her face, twirled a finger through her long pink hair, as if to say _pink! Don't be stupid, pink!_ with each exaggerated tug. "Oh, who cares?" I asked. From the back of the room, I caught Kakashi's mildly surprised look. I went on, hoping to explain my outburst.

"I mean, knowing these things about each other is great," I elaborated, trying to ignore the look Sakura was giving me. If looks were throwing knives, she'd hold the world record for most targets destroyed in the under five minutes we had to present. "But," I continued, "I thought the assignment was really about making friends with people we don't always hang out with. Sakura and I have been friends for a really long time―" Perhaps not much longer if I didn't explain myself soon, as her look was threatening to cut me to ribbons, "―so we already knew each other well. But I know we both really liked hanging out with Sasuke these past few weeks." I made sure to include her in that statement, removing any suspicion from me and distracting her with thoughts about Sasuke. Her glare lessened; it was now at the point where it could bring a grown man to his knees (but not kill him). "I don't know. It just seems like we're going about this all wrong. Favorite colors, least favorite classes… sure, that stuff will be learned over time, but that alone isn't what makes a friendship.

"To me… friendship is about more than that; it's about just being there with each other. It's going to the mall on a lazy Saturday and playing 'rate the guy' for hours," I saw Sakura's expression soften further, "And it's about knowing what happens in the living room shouldn't go anywhere _near_ YouTube." Sakura looked like she was about to smile for real, recalling the incident that was just a few steps away from finding its way to the internet and attaining viral status (we vowed not to speak of it in exact terms). "It's yelling out the lines as you watch your favorite movie, and singing off-key to songs on the radio. It's chatting online for hours, even when your conversations aren't about anything, and holding a competition for who can eat the most sour candy in a minute. It's about running around outside past midnight and getting caught by someone's sprinklers, and lending a jacket when your friend's shirt is ripped, even if it's cold. It's talking about everything and talking about nothing; it's sharing secrets, like everyone says, but… it's also about not seeing the person any differently because of those secrets. I don't know, maybe it's just me. But you need to have friends," I concluded lamely, "That's what I think."

The room was silent afterwards. I kind of wished I'd kept to the script we'd agreed on. Kakashi began to walk towards the front, slowly.

"That's what you think, is it?" he asked, "You feel like friendship is more important than simply doing a project?" I pause for a second, and then, with a determined face, nodded. Kakashi-sensei continued to give me a bored, blank look, which, in effect, was harder to deal with than if he had looked angry. I waited, sincerely hoping my tirade hadn't caused our group to fail. "Hm," he continued, "Interesting. Does the rest of your team share your views?" He looked to Sasuke, who looked back at him evenly. "Well?"

"Absolutely," Sasuke answered in the same flat tone he'd used during the rest of the presentation. Kakashi looked to Sakura; she looked really hesitant, but, considering both I and especially Sasuke had agreed, she decided to go along with us. Looking directly at Kakashi, she nodded.

"So all of you agree on this," he repeated. I started to get worried; he looked like he was about to tell us that we had failed the assignment. I was dreading how Sakura would react. "In that case…" He gave his usual pause, building up the suspense. Then he smiled, his eyes curving up as he did so. "You pass."

I blinked. "We… pass?" I asked.

"Yep," he answered. "In fact―" his grin turned evil, "― you're the only group that did." Faces around the class fell (in a directly converse relationship to Sakura's expression). "For those of you who didn't, you will be required to write a five-paragraph essay, in English, detailing what you believe is the importance of teamwork. Due by Friday." Upon his last statement, the bell rang, and the rest of the students begrudgingly moved on to their next classes. Sakura let out a shriek as soon as we were into the hallway and pulled me into a hug.

"You aren't mad, then?" I asked.

"Mad? Are you kidding? That was amazing! I can't believe we passed, and no one else did―" Before she could continue, her cell phone began to ring. Glancing to make sure there were no teachers around, she took the phone out and put it to her ear, surreptitiously hiding it behind her hair. "Ino, what's up?" she asked, wandering away. "No way… he said that? Oh my god, you have to tell me all of the details… yeah… no way!" Her voice faded as she turned a corner and left us alone in the now deserted hallway.

Sasuke and I walked slowly together towards the lunchroom. Sasuke had his hands buried deep in his pockets, and he didn't look like he was going to say anything. The silence was as awkward between us as it had been the entire week. I needed to fix that; I needed to know.

"Um, Sasuke?" I asked, breaking the silence. He stopped walking.

"Hn?" he answered, looking at me with his eyebrow raised slightly. We were still completely alone in the hallway, as everyone who had class at that time was in class, and everyone who had lunch was in lunch. (2)

"Well, this is going to sound weird, but… what am I to you?"

The question hung in the air for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"You know… there was last Sunday." I knew he understood what I was referring to. "But we never really established anything. And all last week it just seemed like you, I don't know, regretted it or something. Even when you slept over… I know Sakura was there, but you barely spoke directly to me all night! I understand if you don't want―"

"Idiot," he scoffed, cutting me off. I stared at him.

"Who are you calling―?"

"Relax. I want this. But you asked me what you are to me… and I don't really know how to define that." I wrinkled my eyebrows together. "What I _mean_ is, I would call you my girlfriend, but that's not exactly accurate. Or," he lowered his already quiet voice further, "I would call you my boyfriend, but that's not completely true, either. Plus, aren't both of those up to you?"

My face was blank; I blinked at him dumbly. Had I really just heard that correctly? Sasuke wanted me to be his girlfr― boyfrie― well, _significant other_?

"I… you," I grasped for the words to answer him. "Of course, I would love to be… but you really mean that? I'm your―"

"Yeah," he said, glancing around quickly before resting his arms around my shoulders, making us look directly toward each other. His gently smiling face was close to my own. "You're mine."

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(1) Just a little personal experience, here…

(2) I don't know how other schools do it, but at my school, there are several lunch periods. So, a third of the school has lunch while the other two thirds have class.

I really enjoyed this chapter! It's fluffier than most I write, but I really wanted to focus on the good times they're having. And the whole friendship speech… I borrowed from real life a lot for this. I hope you like it and can identify (whatever random and crazy things you do with your friends!).

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	9. Distilled Spirits

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

Well, as of now I have completed one story and put another on hiatus, which means I currently have two active stories (this one and another). So, hopefully, that means updates will come a bit faster. Notice I said hopefully.

Thanks again to my idea fairy!

**Warnings: **teen partying and such. Also, Naru seems to be taking the initiative quite a bit this chapter… that foxy thing. _Also _also, this chapter is just the tiniest bit lime-scented. Just a smidge.

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**Last Time:** _My face was blank; I blinked at him dumbly. Had I really just heard that correctly? Sasuke wanted me to be his girlfr― boyfrie― well, _significant other_?_

"_I… you," I grasped for the words to answer him. "Of course, I would love to be… but you really mean that? I'm your―"_

"_Yeah," he said, glancing around quickly before resting his arms around my shoulders, making us look directly toward each other. His gently smiling face was close to my own. "You're mine."_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 9: Distilled Spirits, Tonsil Hockey, and Overheated Glares**

Sasuke and I were officially dating. Sometimes I had to repeat that to myself just to make myself know that it was true― and such a realization undoubtedly made me want to jump up and down each time in sheer excitement.

There was a bit of a drawback in dating the oh-so-popular Uchiha Sasuke, however; our relationship couldn't really be public. Sasuke was pretty much indifferent to what other people thought of him, so this wasn't really his decision. I was the one who chose to keep it a secret for the moment, and I had several reasons for doing so. I was honestly afraid of what all of Sasuke's admirers at school would do upon hearing the news. But more so than that, I was afraid of one admirer in particular.

Sakura was supposed to be my best friend, and she'd had a crush on Sasuke for almost as long as I'd known her. Going out with him and knowing this was against one of the most important rules in the Girl Code: _Thou shalt not date your friend's crush _(1). I was blatantly breaking that rule, and if Sakura found out, there _would_ be consequences. So I was just hoping she'd never find out, at least until she had a new crush or a boyfriend of her own.

But back to what I was originally so excited about: Sasuke and I dating. It was currently a Wednesday; not a common day to go anywhere, but that worked out to our advantage. The small number of people we knew who _would_ be out was cut drastically, as most people were stuck inside doing Kakashi's assignment― in the end, only our group and two others from different classes passed the presentation. That meant tonight could, officially, be our first date.

Sasuke didn't really want to go anywhere, and it was my idea to do so. He was content to hang out in his apartment, but I protested against this due to the less-than-welcoming state of both his apartment and his neighborhood. Mine would have been okay, but once I'd told Iruka about Sasuke and me, my foster father had done nothing but alternate between hovering over us with an ever-present grin and sniffling about how grown up I suddenly was. After both Monday and Tuesday night dealing with this, I felt we needed to spend some time outside of my apartment.

And so, that is how Sasuke and I found ourselves at the Konoha Mall on that even-more-quiet-than-usual Wednesday night, in the back of a theater playing a romantic comedy that I had all but dragged him to see. We chose the back of the theater for several reasons; on one hand, there was less of a chance of anyone seeing us, just in case anyone from school had finished the assignment (or given up). And on the other hand… well, let's just say I didn't end up seeing much of the movie after all.

But as we left the theater, things almost took a turn for the worst.

Sasuke and I were just going to wander around the mall for a bit longer, perhaps just sit in the food court for a while (okay, so it wasn't the most romantic evening we could have planned… but for a first date with almost no budget, it was perfectly fine). But as we approached the seating area, I happened to notice a spot of bright pink in my line of vision; it was Sakura and Ino. Luckily, I spotted them before they saw us, and we were able to make our escape in time, laughing slightly as we burst out into the parking lot.

So instead of staying at the mall, we walked to a nearby park, which was completely deserted at that time of night. We found that a low bridge over a smooth pond was nice place to sit and dangle our feet over the edge. Even though it was a little cold, I still took off my shoes and left my feet rest on the surface of the water, imagining what it would be like if Sasuke and I could walk across the surface as if by magic.

And, as I sat there with Sasuke― whom it still took a bit of self-convincing for me to believe that, yes, he was really my boyfriend― I found that I didn't have to think about the things that I normally did, and I was truly happy.

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In the few weeks that everyone had been so occupied by the project, I'd almost forgotten our usual routine of having frequent parties. Almost.

And that Friday, with the project― and the extra assignment for nearly everyone― done, it was time to go back to normal life. But this wasn't just a Sakura party, with the standard small group of us hanging out in her living room. Oh, no, this was an _Ino_ party, and that meant that it would be much bigger, wilder, and likely to involve mostly people that we'd never met before. Ino's parties were like special occasions; they were always wild and almost always ended with red and blue lights flashing in the street outside her house. In fact, her parents even knew about the parties, and allowed her to throw them, under the condition that they could stand at the door with a big jar to collect everyone's keys in before leaving to a neighbor's house to pretend nothing was happening. The jar was left above the fridge, under the assumption that only someone sober would be able to figure this out and retrieve the correct set of keys.

Ino had invited _everyone_, from the football team and all the coolest seniors, right down to Shino with his bug collection and Temari's intimidating younger brother, Gaara. Much of the student body― as well as some nearby college students― would be in attendance. As someone who hung out with Sakura and Ino on a regular basis, naturally I was expected to go. But, as someone who had just spent a good part of the last month with Sakura as well, there was high expectation that Sasuke would also be making an appearance, especially since I had made it sound like my best friend and my boyfriend were such good friends in my speech during class. Obviously, Sasuke was reluctant to go.

"I never go to those things," he said, closing the textbook in front of him. He and I were doing our homework at my apartment in what had quickly become the usual routine― he'd actually convinced me that doing it right away would leave much more time (together) later, hence why we were doing so on a Friday afternoon. Of course he finished before me.

"But I'll be all alone there!" I reasoned, scribbling down a wrong answer for the math problem I'd given up on. "Do you even know what goes on at these things? How crazy Ino's parties get?"

"Yes," he replied dryly, "I've heard the horror stories and seen the videos online."

"Well then," I said, reverting back to my girlish voice, which I felt confident enough to drop when we were alone, "You know that they're no place for a young lady such as myself to go unaccompanied." In response, he rolled his eyes and fixed me with an exasperated stare. I went back to my real voice. "Fine then. Just imagine me in the arms of Neji, who will undoubtedly believe that I am destined to be all his, all night. He has quite the crush, you know…" Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly and I knew that this tactic was beginning to work on him.

"You don't even like Neji."

"No… but without you there to guide me, who knows what will happen to my ability to make decisions? I could mistake him for you."

Sasuke scoffed at the comment. "You don't have to go either, you know."

"What, and risk the wrath of Sakura and Ino? No thanks… Come on, we can leave early if you don't want to stay."

"I don't even want to _go_, and― are you pouting?"

"…maybe."

"That's not going to work."

"Then what will work?"

"Nothing."

"How about if I tell you that Iruka thinks I'm spending the night at Ino's…?"

One of Sasuke's previously furrowed eyebrows rose. "But you aren't?"

"Nope… and he's leaving tonight for some special training workshop tomorrow, so he won't be going to pick me up."

Sasuke looked thoughtful. "So where _are_ you staying?"

"Well, I guess if you don't want to go to the party, I'll just stay here instead. I suppose I'll watch the Harry Potter movie marathon that's on…"

"…and if we _do_ go?"

I sent him a mischievous grin. He waited, looking at me as if to figure out if I was bluffing. After a moment, he sighed.

"What time do we go?" he asked resignedly.

And so, that is how I coaxed a very reluctant Sasuke into attending the wild house party in store for the evening.

We were presently walking through Ino's front yard, having come from a bus stop a few blocks away. From the sound of it and the number cars in the surrounding area, there were already plenty of people inside and the party was approaching cruising altitude― a state that could carry on until most of the participants had left, thrown up, passed out, or any combination of the three. We arrived just late enough to be fashionably so, with Ino's parents just about to abandon their large jar filled with keys. Her mother greeted me, but then looked to Sasuke.

"Did you drive here?" she asked, a hint of warning in her voice as she held out the jar slightly.

"No," he answered in a bored tone, "We took the bus and walked."

She wrinkled her nose at the thought of public transportation, but moved to the side to allow us in. Ino's house was larger and in a slightly nicer neighborhood that was just a step or two down from a gated community. Her parents owned one of the most widely known flower companies in the country, sending high priced floral arrangements to rich couples and for celebrity weddings. As such, the interior of the house was decorated quite nicely. Though the breakables and valuables had been moved to a safer place, it was still a shame the place would be mostly trashed by morning.

Following the sound of the loud music that got even louder with each step, I led Sasuke to Ino's living room, stepping over one couple already making out on the hallway floor. As soon as I stepped through the doorway, something pink and smelling of beer latched onto me, and it took me half a second to realize it was Sakura.

"You're here!" she exclaimed, he voice a bit more slow and deliberate than usual.

"We were afraid you weren't coming," added Ino, giggling as she took a sip from a red party cup.

"Of course I'd come," I reassured them, detaching Sakura from my shoulder and stepping forward a bit to allow Sasuke to step into the room as well. As soon as they caught sight of him, the reaction was predictable. They squee'd in a display of utter fangirl joy.

"You came!" Ino practically sang, to which Sasuke grunted a noncommittal noise in response, still looking like he didn't want to have come in the first place. Ino paused, apparently the more sober of the two girls before us, and raised an eyebrow. "Did you two come together?" she asked suspiciously.

"Uhm…" I floundered for a response. "We…"

"I wasn't going to come, because I didn't know where you live," he lied smoothly, "But I ran into Naruko, and she offered to show me."

Sakura blinked at us for a few seconds, processing. "You're such a good friend," she breathed in amazement at me, making me feel even guiltier about lying to her. "But!" luckily, she quickly changed the subject, "What are we standing here for? Let's get you something to drink… I'm so glad that project is over!" she told us as we walked.

Sasuke mumbled something back, along the lines of, "Me too, you have _no_ idea."

"And we're one of the only groups that passed," she said proudly.

"I heard two others did, too," I said, trying to contribute while ignoring the way Sakura's words ran together a bit and how we were weaving back and forth as we crossed the room. "Do you know who?"

"Ino's group did," she responded in a thoughtful tone, "I guess Shikamaru figured out the real aim of it right away. Hinata and Kiba's group did, too, but I think Kurenai-sensei might have given them hints on what to do. Plus, Kiba was really energetic during the presentation."

We followed her over to where said dog-loving boy was about to attempt a keg stand, and she filled two of those infamous red cups for us. But after she handed them to us, she leaned back a bit and stumbled into the person directly behind her, knocking them both down. That person happened to be one of the high school's starting linebackers, a massive chunk of muscle whom I only knew by nickname―"Brick Wall". She seemed content to lay there with the meat bag, both of them laughing drunkenly. We took that chance to wander away.

As we made our way into the kitchen, around another couple tongue wrestling for dominance on the area rug, I noticed Shikamaru, surprisingly Ino-free, leaning a shoulder against the wall and observing the room lazily. He raised a knowing eyebrow at the two of us as we passed, but then seemed to lose interest, as he shrugged and turned his inattention elsewhere. Still, I cursed how perceptive he was.

In the kitchen, we found two freshmen jousting with a baguette and a decorative oversized spoon. Watching them run at each other, I took a sip from my drink, only to grimace and remember that it was beer in my cup, and I'd never liked beer to begin with. Sasuke seemed to be glowering down at his own.

"Here, let me take that," I offered, and he immediately handed me the offending drink. "Do you want these?" I asked the freshmen, who immediately dropped their fake lances and eagerly accepted what I'd offered.

"There," he said, as the two boys left excitedly, "We showed up. Can we go now?"

"We've been here two minutes."

"So? They won't notice if we leave."

"Sure they will… once all the girls realize you're here, they'll be no way to stop them."

"You'd let that happen?"

"Of course not. I'd find a way to keep their hands off of you."

"And an easy way of doing that would be to leave."

"Or," I lowered my voice as a college-age girl ran in, looking for a place to throw up. That place turned out to be the sink. "We could find somewhere more private."

He smirked at that, his silent way of agreeing. He and I walked back into the living room, finding that Brick Wall apparently had a soft spot for pinkettes and quickly bypassing the spin-the-bottle game Ino was trying to assemble. As we passed through the dining room, dodging Neji's sporadic movements as he attempted to fight with a standing lamp (and yelled at it for "giving him lip"), we also had to avoid the beer pong game that a group of college guys who'd crashed the party were initiating at the table. Finally, we were at the stairs, where yet another couple seemed to have forgotten where they were, and would likely be quite sore in the morning if they really intended to continue that way, laying slanted up the carpeted stairs. Stepping over the first passed-out person of the night, who would soon be discovered and then re-covered in sharpie drawings, Sasuke and I finally reached the second floor. Now, it was only a matter of finding an empty room.

The first door Sasuke opened was a bathroom, where one girl was trying to hold back another girl's hair as she vomited. He quickly shut the door again. Unfortunately, many of the doors in the house did not have locks on them and, upon opening the second door (a bedroom), we got an eyeful of several boys and girls who were _clearly _enjoying themselves. Seriously, there are just some things that I _didn't_ need to see…

Several more doors and disturbing images later― the least of which was Shino having a mumbled conversation with the spiders in the linen closet―, we finally found a vacated room near the end of the hall. It appeared to be a guest bedroom, devoid of any personal touches, but it had walls thick enough that, when we closed the door, the commotion downstairs became only the dull thump of music and hum of voices.

"Finally, I can hear myself think!" I proclaimed, sitting down on the cushiony bed.

"_You_ think?" he asked teasingly, sitting beside me. I slapped him on the arm, though I knew he was joking.

"Why did we come here again?" he asked with a sigh.

"It's supposed to be _fun_."

"Well I'm glad I don't make a habit of going to these things. And what about you? You don't even seem to like it."

"Well, I've never come so late to one before… I guess everything going on doesn't look as stupid when you're there from the beginning, drinking along with them." I paused. "But, no, I've never liked it."

"Then why even come?" he asked, leaning back onto his elbows.

"Well, Sakura and Ino―" He scoffed, cutting my explanation short. "I know it's stupid," I said, lying back on the bed, "But they're my friends." He rolled his eyes, though the small smile betrayed him, and let himself fall back, now flat beside me. I smiled and snuggled a little closer. We stayed that way for a while, with me talking and him responding here and there. A bit of time passed, but before we knew it, we had become another one of those couples playing tonsil hockey at that party.

Sasuke seemed to know just where all of my sensitive spots were; as he ran a light hand up my spine to the back of my neck, I shivered and let out a tiny noise of longing. At that point, he abandoned my lips―now open and panting for air, among other things― and kissed long my jaw line to the back of my ear, which he licked and breathed on just right. Our bodies were entirely pressed together, but everything he was doing made me want to pull closer (and if he didn't stop soon, we'd have a bit of a problem on our hands). In the next few seconds, I found myself on top of him, our lips once again connected.

All went well that way for a bit, but then I heard the sound of the door slamming behind us and I pulled back and looked up.

"Did you hear that?" I asked, looking at the still closed door suspiciously.

"Yeah, it was probably just someone else looking for a room."

"But that means they saw us!" I got up and crossed to the mirror in the room, fixing my ruffled appearance. "Maybe we _should_ go," I said.

"I'm more than happy to."

"I should just tell Sakura we're going… she'll probably end up looking for at least one of us later."

With that, we exited the room in search of Sakura. Just hoping that she wasn't in any of the upstairs rooms, we decided to save ourselves the pain of having to search through them. Downstairs, past the guy on the stairs whose face was now covered in obscene scribbles and the now half-naked couple, we looked through all of the rooms. In the dining room, the beer pong game was well underway, but it looked like most of the participants had passed out around (and on) the table. Must have been an intense game. But no Sakura. In the living room, we found the entire football team huddled around the coffee table, having a good cry. In one corner, Lee was sitting awkwardly near the stoic-as-ever Gaara, both of them looking out of place. Hinata and Kiba were on the other side of the room, jamming out to the loud music emanating from the speaker beside them. No Sakura, and no Ino either. Nor were they in the kitchen, where the two freshmen― both boys― had apparently found that competitive face sucking was much more interesting than jousting with found objects. But Sakura was nowhere in sight. A quick sweep of the backyard― where one kid was hanging off the gutter, repeating, "How did I get _up_ here…?" and a crowd of guys was cheering on Temari and Tenten as they lip-locked passionately― turned up no results. Sasuke was obviously getting impatient.

Giving up and hoping that Sakura would just forget about us, we made our escape out the front door and across Ino's yard (where we had to circumnavigate the bonfire one group had made out of couch cushions stuffed in a metal trashcan). When we reached the road, the sensation of finally being able to breathe washed over me.

"Where to, now?" asked Sasuke as we walked back towards the bus stop. I looked over at him and grinned.

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Half an hour and one bus ride later, I flopped onto Sasuke's large, dark bed, bobbing up and down with the disturbance to the springs I'd caused. Sasuke closed the door behind him, paused for just a second, and then dove onto the bed after me. I wasn't ready for sex, and Sasuke seemed to know that as well.

But, as long as I was spending the night, we might as well have had some fun…

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Maybe I was just imagining it, but everyone looked really irritated at school that Monday morning. But the party had been Friday… so it couldn't have been that everyone still had hangovers. So what, then? Ever since Iruka had dropped me off that morning― he'd needed to speak with the school district's superintendent there, anyway, to show his certification for having completed the workshop on Saturday― there seemed to be a killer atmosphere hanging over the school.

I noticed something else as Sakura stayed quiet all through English class, not saying a word from the time I sat in my seat near her and Sasuke to the time when the bell rang and she left in a flash; the condition seemed to be afflicting only the girls. But surely it couldn't "that time of the month" for _all_ of them, could it?

On my way to lunch, I realized that I'd left my binder somewhere and was forced to retrace my steps to find it, making me later than usual. When I entered, I looked for Sakura and the rest of the group at the two spots they'd be during lunch. They weren't at our standard table, which meant today was a day where they would venture over near the windowsill with the other fangirls to ogle at Sasuke, though he wasn't there yet. A slightly possessive emotion swelled up inside me, but I knew I couldn't do anything about it, and went to join them at one of the spots still open at the table.

As I walked through the cafeteria, however, a hush seemed to descend over the crowd, only to pick back up again in an urgent hum. Though I couldn't hear what anyone was saying, I was starting to get nervous. My fears were confirmed when I reached the table, and at least ten faces snapped towards me, glaring.

"Oh," said Sakura in a mock-pleasant voice, standing. Her glare was the worst of all. "So the slut finally decided to join us." I blinked at her for a few seconds, placing my stuff down on the table.

"No one said you can sit here," Ino remarked pointedly. "Though we all know now why you'd want to."

"What's… going on?" I asked slowly, slightly in denial, but trying to figure out how I'd wronged them.

"You know what's going on," Sakura growled accusingly, "I saw you kissing Sasuke at Ino's party. You were all over him like the little whore you are."

All of the air rushed out of my lungs in shock, and I looked around a bit, searching. Where was Sasuke when you needed him?!

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Muhahaha... Mild cliffhanger.

1. Just out of curiosity, I looked up girl code to see if anyone had actually written it down anywhere. They have; urban dictionary has a nice entry (though there are some differences in opinion on the "official" rules). This one is rule #1 of the second definition.

Hm… I'm sure your brain can fill in the "fun" that Sasu and Naru had that night. More specific things will come later…

I'm glad I finished, I wanted to get it out before I leave for vacation. I'll be out of the country for two weeks starting tomorrow (and, subsequently, away from my computer). Please, please, please leave me lots of reviews to read when I get back!

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	10. Near Cat Fights to Trapped Like Rats

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

Sorry, it's been quite a while…. School. That is my explanation. But I'm very pleased to bring you the tenth chapter of this little tale! Oh, and happy (bit-belated) birthday to Naruto and happy (bit-more-belated) birthday to Fairy-kun!

I'm not entirely happy with this chapter, because it's a pretty important than I've had planned for a while, but it's short and the mechanics of it are not what I expected.

**Warnings: **Naru is a bit OOC for how I've been writing hir, but I'm going to start slowly pushing back towards hir canon personality (btw, hir means his/her, going to use this now for ease of writing). And…. Well, this chapter is…. Blah. Language and violence.

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**Last Time:** _"What's… going on?" I asked slowly, slightly in denial, but trying to figure out how I'd wronged them._

"_You know what's going on," Sakura growled accusingly, "I saw you kissing Sasuke at Ino's party. You were all over him like the little whore you are."_

_All of the air rushed out of my lungs in shock, and I looked around a bit, searching. Where was Sasuke when you needed him?!_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 10: From Near Cat Fights to Trapped Like Rats**

I was on the verge of panic. Sakura stood before me, looking like she was trying to think of a way to crush me with just a look. The girls behind her were doing just the same.

I knew the "laws" I'd broken; in addition to dating someone I knew Sakura liked, I'd taken _the _Uchiha Sasuke. Though almost all the girls wanted him, actually _getting_ him was a different story― a crime punishable by the highest of payback. I kind of hated that Sasuke was treated like a coveted object, but that's just the way it was.

But there was another problem with what Sakura had seen. Or rather, the perception of it. Part of it was her jealously talking, I assumed, but much of it was due to the way the kiss must have appeared from walking in at just the wrong moment― I realized now that it had been Sakura who had opened the door at that time. And I certainly _had _been all over him then.

"Well?" she asked, "What do you have to say about that?" Her tone was borderline passive aggressive, and in some ways that was scarier than flat-out anger. "Are you going to apologize for stabbing me in the back?"

"You have it all wrong," I tried to explain, "Sasuke and I weren't―"

"Are you going to try to say you _weren't_ kissing him? I saw you."

And there it was. Something clicked within me; I'd been trying to think of a way to tell Sakura about my relationship with Sasuke since its beginning. Here, with her now trying to force it out of me with solid evidence, I realized that it was too late. There was no longer any reason to hide.

"No," I said with newfound confidence. "There's no point in denying that. But what _I'm_ saying is that while I may have been kissing him, he was most certainly kissing me back." The girls let out scandalized gasps at the admission.

"Yeah, right," Ino sneered.

"Is it so hard to believe that Sasuke could like me?" I asked, getting angry.

"Sasuke has rejected every girl who has ever liked him. Why would he suddenly choose _you_?"

"Oh, thanks Sakura. It's so nice to know what you really think of me."

She put her hands on her hips. "You know what I mean. And you know what else? Let's pretend he actually did kiss you back. It's not like you're anything more to him than that."

"Actually," a new voice cut in, making me jolt out of my intense focus on Sakura, Ino, and their cronies. "We're dating."

I looked up in surprise as Sasuke lightly draped an arm over my shoulders. I hadn't noticed that he'd entered and crossed the lunchroom all the way to where we stood arguing. Nor had I noticed that Sakura and I had become the theater part of dinner theater for those around us eating their lunches. My face ignited as if I'd had superpowers and yelled 'flame on' upon my realizing that, yes, Sasuke had just said that aloud, and, yes, everyone was watching, and, no, this was not some kind of nightmare that would cause me to wake up in a moment or two, panting like a bulldog in August.

As my mind wandered down this odd path of panic, my ears picked up on an oddly melodious sound from right next to me. And, when my overdriven brain pieced everything together, I realized it was Sasuke's voice, saying words or something…. A second later, I caught up with what he was saying.

"…and why should it be up to you who I'm interested in?" he finished rhetorically. Sakura looked about as shocked as I knew I did. "Come on," he said to me, gently pushing on my shoulder to turn me around. Before I realized it, we were out of the cafeteria and in the relative silence of the hallway. A few seconds after the doors shut behind us, I heard an explosion of chatter erupt from the lunchroom. Unfortunately― or fortunately, perhaps― I couldn't hear what anyone was saying. I looked at Sasuke, still in mild shock.

"Everyone knows we're dating," I summed up briefly. "I guess we can't really turn back now."

"I guess we can't," he confirmed simply. His lips then curved up a tiny bit. "Come on," he said, jerking his head to indicate moving away from the cafeteria. We walked down the hall together towards a place where we could be by ourselves, and we didn't look back.

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The week passed, bringing glares that did not seem to lessen over each day, as I'd hoped they would. Somehow, though we made it without incident. And, the little bit of good that came among all of the evil stares from the We Love Sasuke club (which was steadily becoming the We Hate Naruko club) was that Sasuke and I didn't have to pretend anymore. Even though exactly what I'd been dreading had really happened when Sakura found out, Sasuke and I could be in public without anything _worse_ happening. With that in mind, we were going out that Friday night, in celebration of my 16th birthday. My real birthday was actually on Saturday, but that night was always reserved for Iruka and me just to spend some time together, as "father" and "daughter". And I tended not to want to go out on that day, given what had happened years earlier.

I found myself at the mall with Sasuke. We were coming out of a movie― some crazy action flick about a ninja who was protecting a princess or something; I don't know, I was too distracted by Sasuke to pay attention. Now, we were headed back through the mall, trying to figure out what else to do.

"Dinner, a movie," I summed up what we'd done so far, "_And_ you're holding my hand?" I asked in mock-surprise, indicating the way our fingers were intertwined between us as we walked. "Why, Mr. Uchiha, you're spoiling me." He looked at me slantways, smirking a bit at my antics.

"Yeah, don't get used to it," he quipped back jokingly. I pretended to pout at him, putting on my best kicked-puppy look; he suddenly wasn't looking at me anymore. I followed his gaze and, at the end of it, I found the last two people I'd been looking forward to seeing. A shopping bag-laden Sakura and Ino were emerging from Sephora, identical looks of shock coming across their newly made-over faces. The shock gave way to identical glares. They turned up their noses slightly and about-faced, walking in the opposite direction so they wouldn't have to pass us. I sighed.

"Maybe we should go somewhere else," I suggested. "It's not too cold, we could just walk for a while." He nodded, and we headed towards the exit.

Outside, however, it was much colder than it had been earlier, and the sky had clouded over. The scent of rain on asphalt hung in the air.

"Maybe a walk isn't the best idea," Sasuke said, and I nodded, taking out my cell phone.

"I'll call Iruka, he can give us a ride," I offered. Okay, so getting a ride from a parent wasn't the most romantic thing to do while on a date, but neither was freezing your ass off in the rain. I wished I'd had one of those summer birthdays, when the weather was almost guaranteed to be nice. "Ugh," I said, noting my lack of bars, "No service. This thing is a piece of junk." I wandered away a bit, holding my phone in the air and looking for a spot where the signal was strong enough to make a call, getting frustrated that I couldn't find one. Sasuke leaned against the wall to wait, his eyes closed in apparent thought.

As I wandered back and forth― very annoying in heels―, I heard a few lewd whistles coming from a group of guys that I'd seen approaching the doors out of the corner of my eye. I took another step and my heel snapped, making me almost trip on a now very painful ankle; the group of guys started laughing. As Sasuke came over to me, I whirled around to face the jerks, intent on yelling. But then I saw who was at the forefront of the six men.

Mizuki.

He seemed to realize who I was at the same time I discovered that it was him. His laughing face turned into a sneer and he began advancing. In surprise, I backed up a few steps, stumbling a little on my broken heel. Sasuke looked at me in concern.

"Those are the guys," I whispered, "The ones from the alley." I knew he'd remember, and it was obvious that he did when he stepped in front of me, between the group of feral hunters and their injured prey (me!).

"Well, well, what do we have here?" said Mizuki, crossing his arms as he walked forward. "It's the little faggot who tried to trick us." I glared at him; he was still making it sound like it was somehow my fault that he and his buddies missed out on a rousing round of gang rape.

"And his boyfriend," another man― whom I recognized from the alley― added. "Unless…" He turned his attention to Sasuke. "You don't know what that pretty little girl's got under her skirt?"

"I'm perfectly aware," Sasuke shot back neutrally. I pulled on one of his hands.

"Let's just go," I urged him, "There are too many of them to deal with."

It seemed as though he agreed slightly, as he allowed me to pull him away from the steadily approaching men moving slowly on my smarting ankle. Unfortunately, moving away from them meant moving away from the door and possible safety; now, we were in a blind spot from the doors and most people who might have been in the parking lot. No one else was in yelling distance anyway, having gone inside to escape the coming rain. And the men could walk much faster than I could limp.

By the time I was contemplating trying to run, no matter how much it would hurt (knowing Sasuke wouldn't be able to carry me away fast enough), they were already too close for it to do any good. They created a semi-circle around us, our backs uncomfortably close to a blank concrete brick wall. Sasuke still stood in front of me protectively.

"If you're of aware what he is," said another of the group, "Then you must be a little queer-boy as well."

"I guess it's up to us to do away with them, right guys?" asked Mizuki, his smile looking menacing as he lifted his hand and a switchblade flicked into being. My throat closed up; I think I tried to scream, but my voice just wouldn't work.

"Try to get away," Sasuke whispered to me, and before I could pull him back, he ran at the one that was farthest from Mizuki (and, therefore, the knife). I tried to take his advice, but one of the men pushed me back. I fell to the ground, twisting my already painful ankle even more. I didn't think it was broken, but I knew I couldn't move.

Mizuki and one of the other guys were upon me now; Mizuki held me from moving while the other took the knife cut away my nylons with the switchblade. He pulled those and my shoes off entirely, his movements mockingly tender, but his face set in an awful smirk. My skirt came off next, revealing the very short shorts I'd worn underneath.

"Are you cold?" the man asked mockingly at my shivering movements. "Good… Oh, and your boyfriend is a bit too busy now to help you." He indicated the way the other four men were fighting with Sasuke.

"And you can watch," said Mizuki, holding my shoulders still with one hand and keeping his other over my mouth, facing me in the direction of the scuffle, "While he loses this fight."

Sasuke was good at fighting, actually. He got a few great shots in, even one particularly well-aimed punch that sent its recipient down to the ground for a few stunned seconds. But I was right before, there were just too many of them. As Sasuke turned to hit one of the men who had attacked me in the alley, the other one that I'd recognized came up behind him and delivered at sharp elbow to the back of the head. Sasuke stumbled, swearing. I squeezed my eyes shut tight at that point.

His momentary distraction was all they needed apparently, as in the next moments, I could hear the sound of more scuffling and slight grunts of pain from Sasuke. When I opened my eyes again, he was struggling against one of the men, who hand on his hand on his throat and was pushing him against the wall. The man threw a hard punch into Sasuke's face that knocked his head back against the wall. Sasuke stopped struggling, and fell down limp when released.

It was at that point that I found voice enough needed to scream, but the sound of it was muffled against Mizuki's hand.

"None of that, now," he admonished. "We might have to do something even worse to him if you make too much noise…" At that, I shut up entirely, my eyes wet with fear for Sasuke. With the other four done with him, they all crowded around me. My zipper-down sweatshirt was gone, and then so was my blouse, both tossed away haphazardly. I was down to only my tank top and shorts. The top was quickly cut away; somewhere in the back of my mind, some insane part of me wondered where they got a knife that sharp. Then my bra was gone, and with it the now comforting weight I'd always felt there on my chest.

"One last thing," said Mizuki, taking the blade as I opened my eyes to watch (a mistake, as that meant I had to see all of their hideous faces). One of the other men held me up still as the blue-haired man released my mouth and shoulders and took one of my long pigtails into his hands. I started struggling a bit more, then, dreading what was coming. "Oh, seems like you're pretty attached to this…" he remarked, not stopping. I had to close my eyes again as he made the first cut into my long, blonde hair. After some pulling and sawing later, half of my hair was cut short and close to my head. He left it that way.

Once done, one of them punched me right in the solar plexus, making me unable to breathe as I fell. As I lay on the ground gasping, more kicks and blows rained down upon me. It lasted quite a while before it began to slow and, mercifully, stop.

"You think we should keep going?" one of them asked after what seemed like eternity. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel them still standing around me. One of them spit, and it landed on the side of my exposed ribs.

"They're not even worth it," I heard another of their voices say as the footsteps of the group started moving away. I kept my eyes closed until they were gone entirely.

In my woozy state, the cold asphalt felt oddly nice against my cut-up cheek. But I was still pretty cold there on the ground with almost nothing covering me. Tentatively, I opened my eyes. Sasuke was lying slightly propped up against the wall a few too many feet away. He was slumped over, bleeding, and not moving. I couldn't work up the energy to move, either, laying there among my scattered clothing, shoes, and precious hair. I closed my eyes again, wanting to give in to the fuzziness that was hovering around the edges of my vision. Simultaneously, I could feel the cold harshness of the blacktop beneath me and the fluffy darkness I was being pulled into.

Through the fuzz, I could hear some voices, seemingly far away. I think I recognized them, but I couldn't be sure…

"Ugh, looks like it's about to rain," said One.

"We should get to my car, then," said the Other. "It's over there, I think."

Then, footsteps started moving in my direction… I really hoped it wasn't Mizuki and his friends, coming back to Finish It.

"Hey, what is that?" One asked, sounding worried suddenly.

"It looks like… people?" the Other said, sounding confused. Their footsteps got closer.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed One, and the footsteps became faster, more frantic. After a few seconds, I could feel that they were right next to us.

"This one is Sasuke!" called the Other from near the unconscious Uchiha, sounding really freaked out. "Then who is that one?" I assumed she meant me, as two sets of footsteps approached. A hand reached down and touched my shoulder, gently applying enough pressure to turn me over so I was facing the sky. Two gasps were all that I heard before I opened my heavy eyes to the two last people that I ever wanted to see me in this state.

"N-Naruko?" Sakura breathed, her eyes just as wide as Ino's beside her.

Above me, the sky opened up and it started to rain.

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…

Anything I say will just ruin it…

Review please!

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	11. Nightmare

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

Whoo, what a cliffhanger to leave you on! I'm very sorry for the length between updates, first there were computer issues, then there were school-related issues (as in, a ton of stuff to do!).

**Warnings: **this chapter has a rather solemn tone…

* * *

**Last Time:** _A hand reached down and touched my shoulder, gently applying enough pressure to turn me over so I was facing the sky. Two gasps were all that I heard before I opened my heavy eyes to the two last people that I ever wanted to see me in this state._

"_N-Naruko?" Sakura breathed, her eyes just as wide as Ino's beside her._

_Above me, the sky opened up and it started to rain._

* * *

**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 11: Nightmare**

The next thing I remembered was a blindingly bright light. Now, I'd never been very religious, but for a split second, I did wonder: _is that the light everyone talks about seeing? Am I dead now?_

A second and a half later, my eyes brought a man's face into fuzzy focus. He was shining a small light towards my face and looking down at me in concern. I attempted to close my eyes to block out the harshness of the light, but found that he had a tight hold on one of my lids, keeping it open. After a moment, however, he released it and moved the light away.

Suddenly, everything around me was clear, and painfully, sharply so. I could feel the coldness in my limbs now, the way the chilled air danced over my skin in deceptively gentle currents. The pavement was hard and rough beneath my shoulder blades; it was as though I could feel each tiny pebble and crater on the surface. There was movement around me― people, raindrops, red flashing lights. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see a figure, wrapped tightly like a cocoon, being raised on a wheeled stretcher; there was another of these stretchers, lowered, not far from where I lay. I wanted to call out, but my mouth protested.

My brain still couldn't make sense of the sounds swirling around me― too many people talking, speaking in urgent voices about two injured boys at the Konoha mall. Who were these boys that they were speaking about? Was anyone trying to help them? I couldn't tell; voices and footsteps sounded choppy, cut up by the pounding of the rain on the cold, cold blacktop and the pounding of my own erratic heart.

The sensations were threatening to overload my every nerve. There was the coldness, the pavement, the lights, the noise, the pounding… and pain, so much pain… the taste of blood in my mouth…

As fast as the sharpness had come, everything switched back to the fuzzy world that offered warmth and protection, rather than blinding lights and the sound of someone sobbing that this sharp world had to offer. I was given my own cocoon after a stab of pain and a shift from the wet ground, and then felt myself rising, floating, being pushed away from all the lights and sound and chaos. A blank slate was above me now and, after a dull _thunk_, the sharp world was sealed away somewhere far from me. Only the sound of rain hitting a metal roof remained identifiable; after a moment, I succumbed to the sense of calm that this sound brought, fading into the oblivion of white noise.

* * *

Waking up suddenly from a bad dream is never pleasant. There's the jolt and the panic, the rapid breathing, and the foggy sense that, maybe, all of that was real.

Now, combine all of that with bolting upright with cracked ribs― overall, not an experience I'd like to repeat. So, naturally, it was the fourth time that morning that I'd done this.

The first time had caused the biggest alarm. By the time I figured out that I was in the hospital and remembered what had happened, I had already gone into a full-blown panic that brought several nurses running in to the rescue. Luckily, Iruka was there to sooth me and I'd eventually fallen back asleep. The second time I'd woken up, no medical assistance was needed; as soon as I saw that my foster father was still there, asleep in a nearby armchair, I felt safe enough to fall asleep again. The third time it happened, I hadn't shot up out of the nightmare of the previous night, opting instead to just wake in utter confusion.

The fourth time I woke up, however, it was from a dream about giant spiders wanting me to tap-dance. And that was just irritating.

As I lay back down, easing myself onto the pillows, I felt a pressure on my chest― but it was from the bandages wrapped around my ribcage and not the usual jiggling silicone security blankets that were usually present in that same area. No, those were somewhere in a heap with my other belongings that had been recovered from what was now deemed the scene of a crime. I probably looked terrible right about now; I didn't even want to think about my hair.

I sighed, quietly, hoping it wouldn't wake Iruka. This was getting big. When I'd woken up for the third time, I'd overheard my foster father speaking with some men― whom I gathered were from the police department― about what had happened. They'd arrested Mizuki and the others, pending criminal charges.

Strangely, that wasn't what concerned me the most. What terrified me out of my wits was the thought of what would happen at school when I eventually went back (as I knew I would). Sakura and Ino had been the ones to find Sasuke and me; there could be no fooling myself into thinking that my illusion was safe. They knew I was really a boy― worse yet, they were mad at me. By now, through the network of text messages, online communities, spy satellites, and girl telepathy (in which I had once established myself as part of), surely the entire student body already knew. And it had been only about 12 hours since the incident. Sasuke would probably tell me that I was being illogical, being so afraid of what the other kids thought. But the discovery of my secret had been something that I'd feared since I realized it wasn't normal for boys to wear dresses.

Sasuke wasn't there at the moment, anyway. His injuries, while seemingly more extensive and in need of more immediate attention, actually turned out to be less dangerous than mine had. Therefore, he'd been moved to another area while I'd been forced to stay in the ICU. I wanted him with me, but pouting wasn't going to do anything to change the bureaucracy.

I sighed again, wiggling slightly to move myself into a more comfortable position amongst the pillows. _Happy Birthday to me_, I thought, counting the pockmarks on the ceiling,_ Another year older…_

* * *

Once, when I awoke and the room was dark, I thought I saw someone who looked remarkably like Sasuke peek his head into the room. Something told me it couldn't be him, though, and, when I rubbed the sleep from my eyes before looking again, whoever it had been was already gone. Like a ninja or something.

* * *

Three days of nothing but staring at a white ceiling, waking from nightmares, and having strangers poke around near and on me was beginning to make me feel as though my brain was melting. I wondered if there was a medical test for that, but thought better of it. It would probably lead to more poking.

Luckily, I'd always healed from wounds very quickly. Otherwise, I might have been in the hospital for much longer. As it was, three days before being discharged was long enough.

Finally, I was free of that place, where the heart monitors of nearby patients had often kept me from being able to think and only family was allowed to visit (this rule was bent for Tsunade, as she passed as my regular doctor). Finally, I could see Sasuke again. A large part of me wanted to make sure he was okay; another, smaller part wanted him to hold onto me and never let go.

He'd been released from the hospital the day before I had, or so I'd been told by Iruka, after having been kept one extra night for observation. He was waiting in front of our apartment building when we got there, looking as calm as always, despite a swollen, black-rimmed eye, bandaged arm, and hand-shaped bruises on his neck. He left his wall-leaning position when I got out of the car, limping on a soft cast-covered foot. I refused to use the crutches I'd been given. Sasuke filled that job anyway, helping me through the door without a word.

"You're okay?" I asked as we got into the elevator.

"I've had worse," he said simply. "No concussion, at least. What about you?"

"I've been better," I admitted, "But I'll be okay." I smiled slightly at him. Yeah, so we lost that particular fight and had our asses handed to us. It was going to be okay― I kept telling myself that over and over, pushing the message into my head: we were going to be okay.

Iruka, holding a bag of what they'd brought from the mall parking lot, unlocked the apartment door and Sasuke helped me limp inside. I looked around at the familiar apartment; there were a few pitiful-looking streamers and a few deflated balloons decorating the walls and floor. Iruka looked apologetic.

"I wanted to decorate it for your birthday," he explained the obvious. "I didn't have time to clear it all out." I nodded, smiling again. I knew that Iruka hadn't been home too many times since Friday night, and we hadn't exactly been home to celebrate my birthday.

I steered myself and my Sasuke-crutch over to the couch and collapsed down onto it as quickly as my cracked ribs would allow. Now, they only hurt with sudden movement. The three of us were silent for a while.

"So," I said into the tension, "Tell me the truth: how bad does my hair look now?"

"Oh, no it's―"

"It's fine."

"Yeah, don't worry about it…"

"It looks ok."

"It's certainly shorter, but it's not―"

"That bad, huh?" My face was starting to hurt, but I smiled again. I had to keep smiling. It was going to be okay.

With a sudden wave of energy, I hoisted myself up off the couch and steadied myself into a standing position. Without Sasuke's help, I hobbled down the hall to the bathroom and flicked on the light. Until that point, I had avoided looking in any mirrors. I wanted to wait until I was home to catch up with my reflection and have my inevitable freak-out in the comfort of my own bathroom, where doctors and nurses wouldn't try to run in to the rescue. Finally, entering the small tiled space, I looked at myself for the first time in days.

The person looking back at me wasn't Naruko.

It was Naruto.

I hadn't been him in nearly ten years and now, there he was, looking back at me as if he'd gone on vacation for a decade and come back taller, tanner, and… manlier. I leaned against the sink to support myself, preventing my knees from collapsing out from under me.

My hair was short now; there had been nothing we could have done with the choppy length it had been shorn to. Tsunade had brought a hairdresser friend of hers, Shizune, to fix it while we were still in the hospital and she _had_ done a good job. For a boy's haircut.

I hadn't applied makeup in days, of course, so everything was natural. The scars on my cheeks stood out a lot more without anything to cover them or redirect attention somewhere else. And, just as I'd known from the odd lack of weight on my chest and the way I felt as though I would fall over backwards from the overcompensating posture my back was accustomed to, my chest was completely flat beneath the t-shirt I was wearing.

Sasuke appeared beside me in the mirror as I stared. He looked at my reflection as well, leaning against the doorframe.

"Naruko?" he asked, giving a very Sasuke-ish face that seemed to say, "are you okay or should I call a paramedic to snap you out of your catatonic state?". He was very fluent in body language.

"Naruko is dead," I replied simply and without malice, merely stating the truth. "She died in that parking lot. This…" I pointed to my own reflection, which pointed back mockingly. "This is Naruto. It seems like he's here to stay."

"I'm okay with that," Sasuke stated. I nodded, finally pulling my eyes away from the odd sight before me.

"Yeah," I said, turning towards him and no longer needing the sink to hold myself up, "I think I am, too."

* * *

Sasuke could have gone back to school before me, but he decided to wait. And so, it was another week of resting at home (if you could call trying to catch up on the piles of schoolwork Iruka picked up for me "resting") before it was time for us to return to the dreaded place. By now, I was certain everybody knew the secret, even if they hadn't before. This wasn't helped by the way the story ended up on the evening news for several nights in a row. Even if our names weren't given, it seemed to be obvious that it was us. The names of Mizuki and his entire group were given, though, as well as a report on hate crimes. And there it was. Even the most ostracized of students would now know.

There had been a bit of a mess at school that Iruka and Tsunade had had to sort out. School records listed me as a girl, Namikaze Naruko. We had to explain to the school why and I was re-enrolled as a boy, Uzumaki Naruto. I got a new uniform and everything.

And so, for the first time since coming to Konoha, I was going out in public as a guy. Worse yet, I was going to high school.

Iruka had said several times that I didn't need to go back. There were other schools that I could attend or, if all else failed, he could quit his job at the elementary school and home school me. But I had refused and the subject was eventually dropped. I felt as though I needed to go back. It was like I had something to prove― and, I realized, I did.

The first bell was just ringing as we pulled up in front of the school, meaning that students had ten minutes until classes officially began. Sasuke was there in the car, too; Iruka hadn't protested in the slightest to driving over to get him. He'd practically been living at our apartment for the last week, anyway. I stepped out of the car slowly, just being careful. My ankle, reduced to only a minor sprain, and my ribs barely hurt at all now (as I said, I'd always been a fast healer). The bruises had faded from dark purple to pale yellow.

Sasuke had healed a bit, as well, though not much. The swelling of his eye had gone down and was now just a faint bruised area of his eye socket. For the most part, the wounds on his skin were no longer in need of bandages and now showed themselves as red lines like battle scars.

I was nervous to walk into school, feeling awkward in the boys' uniform and non-girly shoes, but urged Iruka to drive off and allow us to go on our way without adult supervision required. At least the new uniform was surprisingly warmer than the old one. My head was down as we entered the double doors to see all of the students had ceased their talking and movements upon catching sight of Sasuke and me. Well, mostly me. For a moment, I was unsure of what I should do.

Then I felt Sasuke nudge me lightly with his unbandaged arm; I first looked at him, and then at the way his hand was extended slightly in waiting. I took it eagerly, intertwining our fingers and smiling at the reassurance. The ghost of a smile graced his lips as well. Then, I turned my attention back to everyone else, setting my head high and making my strides long and powerful as I walked through the hall amongst the whispering and disbelieving stares. Sasuke was right there beside me, him hand gripped firmly in mine, as we stepped ahead proudly into what the future might bring.

* * *

Good, bad, ugly? By this point, I'm so tired that I can't even tell.

So, yes, everyone does know now. Full reactions will come later, mostly next chapter. And though Naruko is now Naruto, trust me, this little tale is not yet over.

So please review! Pleeeeeeeeeease!

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	12. A Hairy Situation

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

*Sings off-key* Happy Birthday to meeeeeee! My 18th birthday was yesterday~! Watch out world, this chick is legal!

And, this being the strange parallel universe in which I live, I'm giving _you_ a present in honor of _my _birthday. I bet you can't guess what it is… that's right, a new chapter!

To those who are worried, relax; Naruko isn't really dead, as Naruto was saying. He's just being melodramatic.

**Warnings:** none except that the author is in a fluffy, manic mood. Reader beware.

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**Last Time:** _Naruko's secret was revealed to the entire school! Now _Naruto_ is there to face the reactions._

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 12: A Hairy Situation **

I couldn't have predicted that I would miss wearing high heels and makeup. They were always the most annoying part of appearing girly. Makeup always took so long to apply, thereby lengthening the amount of time it took for me to get ready before going out. And it was always smudging off throughout the day, so of course there had to be several instances of reapplication. And heels… well, whoever invented those torturous death traps should have been forced to wear them for the rest of eternity.

But I would gladly trade wearing makeup and heels, as well as all other silly female contrivances― bras, pantyhose― for the rest of my life, if it meant that people would _stop staring_. Seriously, it was as though they'd never seen a guy walk down a hallway before. Though, granted, last time they had seen _me_ walk down that same hallway, I had been wearing all those girly accoutrements. But now, without all that, I was wearing my best screw-you-and-your-opinions look to show that I didn't care what they thought of me. Even if I did.

The same thing happened in every class. The school board had been very clear about this; they would transfer my records, but I would no longer be able to attend school under the name "Namikaze Naruko", and so I was re-introduced in each class as Uzumaki Naruto. As it was, the board was trying its hardest to avoid a scandal and Tsunade was under an investigation for her involvement. But the re-adoption of my old identity didn't matter; everyone already knew the story and there was no denying that I was anyone else than the girl they thought they'd known. Especially considering "Naruto" still sat in the same seat and had the same locker and books as "Naruko".

Surprisingly― or not, depending on how you looked at it― the revelation of my gender-bending secret wasn't the thing that made people whisper the most. Instead, it was my name itself.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," I explained, as was customary, pointing to the characters that made up my name written on the board. "That's as in 'swirling whirlpool'." I gave a small bow. "Nice to meet you." (1)

As soon as I'd said my real name, the whispers began anew. I walked among them as I found my way to my usual seat in this Sasuke-free class. Apparently, my being male was old news compared to this new fuel for the gossip fires. I sighed as I sat down and took my books out; I knew this was going to happen. After all, the name "Uzumaki" was more than enough to perk up a few ears. Uzumaki was the name of the infamous company that my parents once owned. And Uzumaki _Naruto_ was the heir to that company's fortune that everyone believed to be dead.

I knew this was going to be a problem. The whole point of cross-dressing in the first place was that I needed to stay hidden. Well, that was pretty much out the window. I could only hope that the incident was obscure enough that no one outside Konoha High would hear about it.

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The days passed and, slowly, I grew accustomed to wearing the boys' uniform and limping on a casted foot and remembering not to speak in a falsetto and sitting in the hall with Sasuke at lunch to avoid stares and not accidentally going into the girls bathroom and blocking out all the whispers and, overall, being Uzumaki Naruto. I suppose it was a lot to get used to, but I wasn't the only one who had to deal with the change. It seemed as though the entire school had been flipped on its axis.

Sasuke was as indifferent to popular opinion of him as usual. He stayed by my side, not minding in the slightest the things that people now whispered about _him_. Clearly, though his girlfriend turned out to be a _boy_friend, we were still dating; people drew the logical conclusion therein (2). His wounds were healing, though not as fast as mine.

Now, however, the fan group formerly known as Uchiha Sasuke's was feeling a vacuum. The object of their collective affection was not quite as shiny now as it had been, so they had to find a new boy to stalk― or, ahem, _love. _The lucky victim turned out to be Hyuuga Neji― after all, he was the second most popular guy (and had the second-best family reputation). Neji didn't seem to mind this quite as much as much as Sasuke ever had. In fact, he seemed secretly to love the attention. I think it freaked him out quite a bit when he saw me as Naruto for the first time, and with good reason, considering we'd made out on several occasions. But, overall, he seemed satisfied with his boost to now being the number one most popular guy.

Sakura and Ino continued to ignore me as they had been doing even before that night at the mall. They were no longer in the fangirl club now that it followed Neji, but they certainly weren't after Sasuke anymore. They did nothing more and nothing less than ignore the existence of Naruko _and_ Naruto. Though, I did candidly catch Sakura's eye during the ever-annoying introduction that I'd had to make during English class and saw something there that looked remarkably― annoyingly― like pity.

There were those who took the change surprisingly well. Hinata was an unexpected friend in all of this (though she blushed every time I spoke with her now) and, by association, her now-boyfriend Kiba seemed to be okay with it as well. He responded in the same way that anyone could expect Kiba to respond; after the conversations were no longer awkward, he'd thrown an arm around my shoulder and ground a his knuckles into my now short and spiky hair in a display of brotherly affection. He'd even been about to do the same to Sasuke, but a sharp glare from coal black eyes had quickly halted that notion.

Temari and Tenten, as some of the few other gay students actually out at school, gave us covert glances and discreet, but approving, thumbs-ups. The ever-enthusiastic Lee had pulled both Sasuke and I into a tearful hug, whilst yelling about how he admired our youthful courage, which probably would have re-cracked my ribs, had Sasuke not shoved him off after not much longer than a millisecond of contact. And, though the majority of students seemed scandalized by the whole ordeal, there were some― such as the ever-indifferent Shikamaru― who understood that it was neither huge problem nor any of their business, and simply didn't care.

But when I went to art class that Friday― arriving later than most students, as it was another unfortunately Sasuke-free period― I found the extent to which people _did_ make it their business. I entered, hoping to work on the painting of a frog that I'd been doing slowly for the past few weeks, only to find that it had already been moved from the drying rack to an easel on prominent display. Across it, someone had slashed a big, messy line of red paint. I stood a few steps away from the doorway, staring at it.

From one side of the room, I suddenly heard a bit of snickering and, upon turning my attention there, I found it to very generic, background-type boys of whom I had never bothered to learn the names. They were looking at over hands meant to conceal their snickers, obviously laughing at my misfortune. I'd be willing to be that one of them had been the one to do it, but there was no way to prove it. Everyone else was watching to see what I would do. So, I decided to do the exact opposite of what they expected.

"Wow!" I exclaimed, putting on a big smile, "My painting looks ever better now than I remember. I guess some kind of magical art fairy visited it during the night. Or," I crossed the room to it, looking it over appraisingly, "Maybe I'm even better at painting than I thought." I chanced a glance around the room; the faces I was met with were as confused as I expected them to be. But the snickering had stopped. I nodded, satisfied. "Yep, I think this expressive line here was exactly what it needed."

Two of the very confused faces were those of Sakura and Ino. I turned from them to see that Anko-sensei, our slightly sadistic art teacher, had entered the room, arriving in time to see my little performance. She narrowed her eyes at me and my painting.

"You can drop the act, kid," she told me, seeing through my ruse. "Alright." She swept her eyes around at the other students. "I'm willing to keep every single one of you here through lunch to clean the mess that the freshmen have made of my brushes, unless someone owns up to doing this." She paused, waiting. "No one?" People starting looking nervous; she would most definitely follow through with her threat. And, with her being evil and all, I was sure that this punishment would include me just because she could if she wanted.

Finally, Sai, a senior who spent as much time in the art room as possible and even came down during his study hall, looked up from whatever he'd been scribbling in his sketchbook with the same eerie smile that was always painted on his face like a mask. He merely had to catch Anko's eyes, glance over at the two now quite serious boys, and look back at the furious art teacher. She understood immediately.

"You two," she said, startling the boys. "Come with me."

In a moment, they were gone into the hall, caught in the interrogative ways of Anko the She-Wolf. A few minutes of tense silence later, they returned looking like they'd gone through all the horrors of a prisoner of war; Anko popped her head in, looking cheerful to say that she'd be going to the office for a moment, that Sai was in charge, and not to kill each other too badly while she was gone because it would just leave more of a mess for the "Toudo and Shinji" (who, I assumed, were the two boys) to clean up. A moment after the door closed, the class predictably erupted.

Opinions seemed to be divided again; a little less than half the class was taking my side, with the rest of the class― with the exception of Sai, who was ignoring everyone, and Ino and Sakura, who were deliberating quietly― started yelling insults and the like in my direction. Luckily, I'd already learned the past week to ignore their words and set about doodling on the corner of a page in my notebook.

The insults continued to escalate, however, covering everything from how I'd tricked the school to how I was nothing but a faggot to how I still occasionally acted like a girl by accident. It was all so noisy that I was about to stand up and say something, breaking the vow to myself that I wouldn't respond to any taunts from that Monday on; my self promise went unbroken, however, from a most unexpected source.

"Enough!" Sakura yelled in the forceful voice that I'd known to be hidden beneath all her girlish charm. The class went quiet. "I think we're all sick of hearing about this!" As she spoke, she gestured with the scissors that she'd been using to cut up magazines for a collage; those near her followed the movements carefully with their eyes. "Naru here"―she gestured towards me, conveniently leaving off the last part of my name to be vague about gender―"Has been the topic of conversation for long enough. You people need something else to talk about." No one said a word, afraid of the fire burning in her jade eyes. "So what; Naru had a change of appearance"― there was that vague reference to me again, as if she couldn't decided which pronouns she should use, and so avoided them entirely― "Are you going to talk about _this_ for two weeks?"

And _this_, first a source of confusion, turned out to be Sakura reaching up and bunching her long pink hair into one fistful, which she then proceeded to shear off in fierce hacking motions with the scissors. With a smug, don't-fuck-with-me-or-I'll cut-yours-too smile, she set both the chunk of cut hair and the pair of scissors down on the table. A few of the students who had been on my side in the argument clapped and cheered. Not to be outdone, Ino took up her own pair of scissors from the table.

"I wonder," she said, holding her long ponytail up, "If this will make you talk for _three_ weeks." And, just as Sakura had done, the blonde girl then lopped off her hair with a few swift cuts, also throwing both down on the table. She shook her head to get a few loose hairs down, the suddenly short ponytail bobbing freely. More people cheered in their praise.

I knew what this meant, maybe more so than everyone else did. Sakura had told me several times that she was growing out her hair because she's heard that Sasuke was into girls with long hair. I didn't know if this was true of my boyfriend, but Ino had done the same thing (and my own long pigtails certainly hadn't hurt). Cutting that away was almost symbolic of them finally letting go.

They both happened to look over at me as they laughed rather fiercely at their actions. I smiled appreciatively and found that they both smiled back, nodding a distinct "you're welcome" with their eyes shining.

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Sasuke, who had been waiting outside of my art class as he always did to accompany me to lunch, peeked in the door and found the highly unlikely scene of Sakura and Ino, their respective hair now choppy and short, running up to me and creating a laughing, near-crying, mess of a group hug. He raised an eyebrow at the three of us, entering the room slowly with a questioning look. The two girls and I babbled a little, saying half-formed things like, "I can't believe!" and "I know, right!" and "I totally missed you". Sasuke stopped a few feet away from us, looking mildly amused.

Ino and Sakura realized he was there in a bit of surprise, and then looked at me. Evil smiles, which I recognized right away from years of friendship and a history of bad ideas, spread over their glossed lips; this infectiously spread to me as I looked between them. We turned back to a now very un-amused-looking Sasuke.

"C'mere, Sasuke," I said sweetly, holding my arms out in welcome. He backed up a step; we advanced upon him.

I was the first to latch onto him, which he wouldn't have minded had it not been followed by the same from Ino and Sakura. We created a blob of a hug again (which I could now be assured was nothing but friendly on the parts of Sakura and Ino). Sasuke struggled in vain for a few moments, but then gave in and relaxed with a little smile. He'd never admit it later, but I was certain that I felt his chest, pressed tightly to my own, twitch a few times in silent chuckles.

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1. If you didn't know, that is basically the real custom for new students.

2. _Well somebody told me that you had a boyfriend who looked like a girlfriend…_ anybody? No? Just me?

This chapter was a little short, but it made me smile (I'm in a fluffy mood). What about you― what are your thoughts on this? Tell me in a review, please!

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	13. All Hollows

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

I am quite happy today, because I've finally had time and motivation to write! And because I'm happy… *points like Oprah* you get a new chapter, and you get a new chapter, and you get a new chapter!

Also, this chapter tastes like fluff, lemon-lime, and angst. Bon appétit!

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**Last Time:** _In a scene bizarrely similar to a certain anime, Sakura chopped off her long hair. Not to be outdone, Ino soon followed suit. Now they're back to being friends with Naru and it seems as though all is forgiven!_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 13: All Hollows **

As it turned out, Sakura and Ino were right; people did gossip about their hair. It wasn't, however, for the weeks that they had declared it would be (and, oddly enough, had maybe even hoped). We spent the following afternoon in a salon downtown the uneven choppiness to which their formerly stylish coifs had been reduced. Sasuke couldn't be persuaded to join us, so I was going to meet him afterwards. It would take a while for him to get used to Sakura and Ino.

"I can't believe Halloween is less than a week away," I commented, biting a cookie in the shape of a pumpkin as I watched Sakura's hair transform. "I assume you have something planned?"

"Of course," Ino half-scoffed from beneath a hair dryer on the other side of the salon, "It's tradition."

"What are you going to go as?" Sakura asked me.

"I have no idea," I sighed. "I haven't had time to think about it. And I can't exactly go as a sexy fox like last year."

"Well you could," Sakura giggled. "You have the costume already."

"Iruka practically had a coronary when he saw me in that," I said, laughing, "He had this look like 'No teenage daughter of mine is going out looking like that!' Priceless." Surprisingly, this statement didn't even seem to faze any of the beauticians; I guess they'd already heard it all.

"No outfit repeating!" Ino warned from across the room.

"You and Sasuke should do themed costumes," Sakura said thoughtfully. "He'll be there, right?"

"He'll be there," I affirmed. He hadn't agreed yet… but he would. "Like what?" I asked of the costumes.

"Whatever you can think of," she replied, "Adam and Eve, cop and robber, proton and electron…" I crinkled my nose at her lame smart-person joke.

"Yeah, but none of that is―"

"Oh my god!" Ino exclaimed suddenly, effectively cutting me off and grabbing our attention, "I have _the _MOST perfect idea…"

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"Absolutely not," Sasuke growled firmly.

"Aw, come on," I whined, "You promised!"

"That's when I thought _you _were wearing _that_," he said, pointing to the costume in my right hand. The other costume― my costume― lay beside me on the couch.

"It'll be funny," I enticed, excitedly bouncing on my knees. "Please?" He looked at me calculatingly for a few moments as I gave him the puppy-eyed sad face.

"Fine," he said finally.

"Yay!" I tackle-hugged him from my crouched position.

"I'll wear the costume," he amended, "But I'm not shaving my legs."

"That's all I ask."

"…you can be evil, you know that?"

"I was a girl for nearly ten years," I sniffed, "Of _course_ I can be evil."

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"Oh. My. GOD," Ino, in cat ears and what was probably lingerie, repeated for the many-ith time that week as she opened the door― but with good reason this time. Sakura, dressed as a sexy nurse, merely gaped.

The week had passed excruciatingly slow and boringly because of the excitement for that Friday night, aka Halloween. Now, the night of, Ino's house was already ready to burst with another of her infamous parties. Sasuke and I were late, as I often still was, because it had taken some time to convince him― again― that it was okay to go out in public like this. I'm not sure how I even managed to convince him, really, because _this_ was far beyond anything anyone would ever expect to expect out of Uchiha Sasuke. And that was because Sasuke's outfit, literally, made him look like a hooker.

"Hold your applause," I said, twirling my pimp cane and giving a little tilt of my pimp hat as I stepped inside. Sasuke, in stripper heels and lace, merely scowled. A few heads turned as we walked further into the house, but most people were drunken enough that it didn't matter.

"You make a very pretty girl, Sasuke-chan!" Kiba, dressed as a dog as every year, called out hysterically. A few more heads turned and Sasuke looked at me in irritation.

"Sasuke, look how I'm dressed," I said, holding my arms out to show off my colorful suit (with bits of fake money stuffed here and there and too much bling to be healthy). "So what, we're a pimp and his ho―"

"Or a rapper and his girlfriend," Sakura added, walking by us.

"…or a rapper and his girlfriend," I agreed. "The point is, we look ridiculous, and it's a good thing. People won't want to make fun of us if we're already making fun of ourselves."

Sasuke's expression softened. "Did Sakura and Ino tell you that?"

"Yes they did," I nodded, grinning, "And I choose to believe it." He smiled one of those ever-so-subtle Sasuke smiles of his. "Now let's go have fun! Ino's Halloween parties are legendary…"

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Sasuke's apartment was dark when we stumbled into it. We weren't drunk― Sasuke was sober and I was maybe just a little buzzed―, but it was kind of hard to see where you were going when you were attached to another person by the lips. Ino's party had been as amazing as I'd hoped, but I was having a hard time remembering it now. It was kind of hard to focus on anything but Sasuke's lips and roaming hands.

Most of our costumes had been discarded during the night, bit by bit, and now what remained was being peeled off at an even faster rate and tossed along the winding path to Sasuke's room. I could hear him fumbling blindly with the doorknob and when he finally got the door open, we fell through and navigated ourselves to the bed, bouncing onto the soft mattress. We were both shirtless by this point, and I shivered as Sasuke's hand moved down the length of my back, pulling me closer to him. His lips, gentle, but hungry, left my own to kiss behind my ear, down my neck, and to my bare collarbone. Then he started to move lower, over my thin stomach, lower…

"Wait, wait," I stopped him suddenly, sobering up enough to realize something. He pulled back, looking at me in confusion.

"What is it?" he asked. He sounded almost… hurt.

"Just hold on a second." I reached down to the backpack I'd brought over to his apartment because I'd known I'd be staying the night. I'd also had the intuition to pack something other than a toothbrush and clean underwear.

"Condoms?" Sasuke said in surprise. (1)

"I… had a feeling about tonight," I replied, feeling my face grow very hot. Sasuke simply smiled slightly more than usual and leaned down again to recapture my lips.

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The next morning, I woke up when sunlight hit my eyes. That was strange, though, because the window in my room faced west and would get the morning sun. Then I felt the warm arm draped over my waist and remembered; Sasuke's window faced east. I turned slightly to look at him. His sleeping face was beside me on the pillow, so calm and peaceful. I smiled; last night hadn't been a dream.

I wanted to stay like that for as long as possible, but now that I was fully awake, I couldn't ignore the way my bladder was screaming for attention. Carefully, making sure not to wake Sasuke up, I wiggled out of bed, grabbing a pair of boxers from my bag (for the sake of modesty), and placed my bare feet onto the cool floor. As soon as I stood up, however, I felt a burst of pain in a very sensitive area. No, last night hadn't been a dream, and I had the soreness to prove it.

Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I gingerly walked out of Sasuke's room and around the corner to his bathroom. Relief was sweet. With that out of my mind, I could focus on other things, like the hunger gnawing at my stomach. An image flashed through my head of waking Sasuke up with breakfast in bed, but considering my cooking skills weren't very good, I hoped he'd still be happy with a bowl of cereal in bed. I rinsed my hands and exited the bathroom, intent on finding food.

"You're Naruto, I presume?" a voice said from across the room, and I jumped and turned towards it. Ok, I'll admit it, I may have screamed a little. Or a lot. Loudly, and high-pitched.

At the table beside the front door, a man who looked very much like Sasuke was seated and looking at me with a mostly blank expression. Sasuke came running out of his room― in boxers, thankfully― in response to my yell. He stopped when he saw the man and the two stared at each other for a few very long moments. I looked between them, back and forth, waiting for something to happen and my heartbeat to go back to normal.

"Itachi," Sasuke said flatly, answering one of my many questions, "Why are you here?"

"I can't visit my little brother?" Itachi asked in response.

"No, you can't," Sasuke replied, sounding angry. "Now, why are you here?" he repeated. Itachi looked at him silently for a while, then closed his eyes for a second in resignation.

"Father died," He said quietly. Surprise flitted across Sasuke's face.

"What?" he asked, as if he hadn't heard correctly.

"He had a heart attack a week ago." Itachi's voice was nearly emotionless as he spoke. "They took him off bypass yesterday." Sasuke looked less angry now, more confused and scared. He sat down on his couch, keeping his gaze fixed at some invisible spot on the floor in front of him. "The funeral is tomorrow, and you should be there."

That caught Sasuke's attention. "I'm not a part of the family anymore," he said, "And he hated me even before that."

"He didn't hate you―"

"You're right, I was just a disappointment. But it's okay, he had you."

Itachi looked at me, and then back at Sasuke. "I'm sorry," he said very quietly.

"You should be!" Sasuke exclaimed, "You're the one who got me kicked out!"

"I'm also the one who's been helping you for the past few years," the elder brother countered, "Who do you think has been making sure there's money in your bank account or that you stay out of trouble? I even paid the police to use every resource to find the guys who hurt you." The anger drained from Sasuke's face again, replaced by sadness or regret, I couldn't tell which. Suddenly, I remembered something.

"You were at the hospital!" I said suddenly, grabbing the attention of both brothers. "I saw someone outside my room once that I thought looked like Sasuke, only… not." Itachi nodded.

"Please go to the funeral, little brother," Itachi implored. "Mother wants you to, and Sharingan needs an heir."

Sasuke's eyebrows wrinkled together in confusion as he looked back at his brother. "But… what about you?" Itachi looked at his brother for a few moments again before he replied.

"I'm head of the company for the moment," he answered, "But… I'm dying, Sasuke." My boyfriend's eyes widened in shock and I realized that I'd inadvertently put a hand to my mouth. "My liver has started to fail," he explained.

"Can't you get a transplant?" Sasuke asked. Itachi looked away and, as Sasuke watched him, he must have known the reason. "Except they don't give transplants to alcoholics," he said, his voice now shaking a little. "But you have money…"

"Even if I paid to have a transplant, it probably wouldn't be enough now."

After a few beats, Sasuke asked, "How long do you have?"

"Maybe a year," Itachi replied, "Maybe less." (2)

Sasuke looked down again. The apartment was silent for a while. Finally, I spoke.

"You should go to the funeral," I said softly. "I know it's a completely different situation, but I never had the chance to go to my parents' funeral. You'll regret not going." Itachi nodded in agreement, though Sasuke didn't look at either of us. After a while, it became clear that he wasn't going to give an answer. Itachi stood silently, nodded at me, gave one long glance at his brother, and then was out the door without another word. I stood there awkwardly for a few more moments, my hunger forgotten.

"Maybe I should go, too," I said, heading toward Sasuke's room to find my clothes. I was reaching for the knob when―

"Don't." Sasuke had spoken so quietly, I wasn't sure if he'd actually said anything or if it had been some kind of hallucination, especially since, when I turned to look at him, his head was still down and he hadn't shown any signs of moving. It wasn't until he spoke again that I knew I _had _heard him the first time. "Don't go," he said a little louder. I left the door and went around the couch to sit beside him.

For a few minutes, he still didn't speak or move, but I just sat beside him and waited. Then, his shoulder began to shake, and knew there would be tears on his obscured face. I put and arm around him to pull him towards me; he obliged easily and rested his head on my lap. The Uchiha Sasuke, who never let anyone see him cry, stayed there silently for a very long time, his shoulders shaking al the while.

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It was cold, grey, and windy when the casket was finally lowered into the ground. I felt out of place among the throngs of mourners dressed in black, but Sasuke had insisted that he wanted me there, and so I'd stayed by his side the entire time. Because the Sharingan Company was such a high-profile corporation, there had been a very large number of people at the ceremony and ample press coverage at the procession. Even now, with the priest having finished his prayer and many of the black-clothed figures now leaving, there were still flashes form press cameras here and there. It couldn't have been comforting.

Sasuke hadn't said anything the entire day, but that was almost expected. We'd stayed away from Itachi and Sasuke's mother, but now, with Sasuke remaining standing on the cemetery grass in front of the open grave, they approached him and he didn't try to run away.

Sasuke's mother was just as I'd expected her to be― much as his father had looked just as stern as expected from his open casket at the ceremony. She wasn't very tall and seemed to have a delicacy about her, with dark hair and porcelain skin just like Sasuke's and the same dark eyes, which now looked tired and red. She smiled softly at him when he finally looked up to meet her eyes, and then she wrapped her thin arms around him and hugged him close; he returned the embrace. When they broke apart, she looked at me and smiled a little again, then turned to follow the rest of the mourners back to their cars and limousines. Itachi nodded to Sasuke in solemn thanks and left to join his mother once Sasuke had returned the gesture.

We watched them go for a while, then Sasuke reached down and took my hand firmly. I squeezed it in reassurance and together we left the silent headstones behind us.

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I hadn't expected Sasuke to want to go to school the next day, but he had this whole life-goes-on attitude about him that I couldn't argue with. Iruka gave a ride, as he usually did now, and when we stepped out of the car, I noticed that heads turned towards us even more than they usually did. The shock of seeing me as a boy had died down enough by now, so I really didn't know what everyone was staring at. Was this about our Halloween costumes? They weren't _that_ scandalous…

I finally got a real answer when Sakura came up to us holding what looked to be a tabloid newspaper. She looked sad and slightly worried.

"Um, Sasuke," she said softly, "I'm really sorry for your loss."

He looked away, indifferent; I wouldn't expect him to respond any differently, that was just how he dealt with this kind of thing when it came to other people. I assumed that the newspaper had pictures from the funeral and that was how she― and everybody else― had found out about it. I just hoped that they wouldn't make a big deal about it all day, as I was sure that would just annoy Sasuke more than was strictly necessary right now. But for some reason, Sakura didn't end there.

"Naru," she said, having taken to the gender-vague nickname, "I think you'll want to take a look at this…" She held out the newspaper and I took it from her in confusion.

Plastered across the front page, there were pictures from the funeral, just as I had guessed. However, that's not what the pictures were focused on. The largest picture was one of Sasuke and me holding hands beside each other in the moment before we'd left. Around it, there were images of Sasuke and his mother hugging, Sasuke and me with our heads bowed amid a group of other mourners, and one particularly disturbing photo of us walking down the street together later that day after we'd changed out of our funeral attire. In every picture, there was a red circle around me, pointing me out.

For a moment, I thought they were trying to expose Sasuke (second in line for the Uchiha family's company) for having a boyfriend (me). But it became clear when my eyes took in the giant red headline that was printed below all of these pictures. In giant all-caps letters, the words "LONG-LOST UZUMAKI HEIR?" glared at me from the page.

Everything began to spin around me when I realized what this meant. It was fine for there to be rumors about me and my possible connection to Hokage, Inc., but this paper was public, nationwide, and, worst yet, they had placed large photographs of me on the front page. The paper dropped from my hands, my fingers numb.

_This is not good…_

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Wow, this chapter is really varied in mood…

(1) Safe is sexy! That's my PSA for the day. And yes, they did have sex, in case that wasn't clear. I just don't like writing full lemons, I feel like they detract from the event itself.

(2) I don't actually know anything about liver failure, so if this doesn't make sense, pretend it does.

**SHORT A/N, PLEASE READ:  
****I hope you liked the chapter! I know it's been a while and I'm sorry to say that it might be a while again until the next one. I'm moving into my college dorm in just a few days and I'm not sure if I'll have much time to write. But I'll certainly try!**

Also, please don't forget to review, it really helps me stay motivated to write in whatever time I can manage.

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


	14. Outed

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******

The night before Halloween, I went to a campfire (a tradition among my friends) and random people I didn't know too well brought booze. Therefore, as one of several sober kids there, I got to watch and observe as they descended into drunkenness. Clearly, this gave me inspiration to write this story, if only because it was scarily similar to things I've already written without having been to a party before. Hooray. Though I do feel bad that I dragged my roommate into all of it…

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**Last Time:** In giant all-caps letters, the words "LONG-LOST UZUMAKI HEIR?" glared at me from the page.

Everything began to spin around me when I realized what this meant. It was fine for there to be rumors about me and my possible connection to Hokage, Inc., but this paper was public, nationwide, and, worst yet, they had placed large photographs of me on the front page. The paper dropped from my hands, my fingers numb.

_This is not good…_

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**Crossing Over**

**Chapter 14: Outed**

In. _Whish. _Out. _Whoosh. _In_. Whish. _Out_. Whoosh._

Breathing was all I could focus my attention on at the moment. It felt like if I stopped reminding myself how, I wouldn't remember to do so. I was only marginally aware of Sasuke's arm around me as I sat with my head on my knees, my hands wrapped protectively around it. I stared at my shoes below me on the school steps. People were talking around me.

"What's going on?" someone asked, joining what sounded to be a growing crowd.

"He's freaking out!" someone else said.

"Over some pictures?" another asked. "Do you think it's true, then?"

"Of course it is," one of the many answered, "He's got the name and everything!"

Their useless chatter faded away as I realized I'd been holding my breath for too long. I shut my eyes.

_In, _I reminded myself. _Whish. _Out_._ W_hoosh. _Surprisingly, I wasn't crying. I was just… stunned.

"Hey," Sasuke's voice whispered quietly beside my ear, "Shh, it'll be okay." I don't think I'd ever heard him sound so soothing. "I'm not going to let anything happen."

"You can't promise that," I murmured, my words sounding strange to my own ears, as if I were trying to talk underwater. "You can't turn back time and make this all go away. You can't―" I stopped talking abruptly. What was I doing? I'd just said it all― this was bad, but my reaction was only making it worse. I'd been about to yell at Sasuke, but the realization came over me that a fight with him― with anyone I loved― was the last thing I needed right now. And then, suddenly, the entire situation became bizarrely funny. And so I began laughing.

I laughed silently at first. Sasuke must have justifiably misinterpreted this, as he then said, so only I could hear, "Don't cry, we'll figure something out." Upon hearing this, I began laughing harder. Yeah; I'd probably snapped by that point. I lifted my head, smiling as I chuckled.

"I'm sorry," I apologized through the laughter, moving my hand to my mouth in a vain attempt at stifling the situation. Sasuke looked at me in confusion.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, perturbed.

"I don't know!" I giggled, my voice high-pitched with mirth. I looked around at the other students that had gathered around us. The concerned and confused looks on their faces only made me laugh harder. I rolled backwards onto the steps behind me.

"Naru…" Sakura said, sounding almost scared.

"I've obviously gone insane," I chuckled, lying limply on the stairs as my body shook and I gasped for breath. Eventually, the laughter died down and I sat up again, wiping a few tears from my eyes as the last few chuckles escaped me.

"Are you done now?" Sasuke asked dryly, his voice back to normal.

"Uh-huh," I said, standing. "I don't know what that was, but it helped." I felt better, lighter. One corner of Sasuke's mouth tilted upwards slightly, and he stood as well.

"You're right," he agreed, the smile turning into a smirk, "You have gone insane." I leaned over, my place a step above him making me taller for once, and gave him a peck on the lips. "We're going to be late for class," he said immediately afterwards as a warning not only to me, but also to everyone else around us staring-and-or-whispering.

"Race ya?" I tempted. Sasuke's smirk deepened.

"Absolutely not."

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Things changed after the rumors of my being the Uzumaki heir that the paper claimed me to be were confirmed. Students― and even a few teachers― treated me differently; they were nicer. I was someone important, now, from a well-known family. And, if the other rumors were true as the earlier ones had been, then I was, as Ino had put it, positively loaded. And that _was_ true. Sort of.

One of my biggest worries about having been discovered was over the same thing that made people hold doors for me more often and make sure that, if I wanted to, I could copy their homework, and that was the considerable amount of money that I'd been left after my parents' deaths. I wasn't sure about the exact details, but I knew that they'd set up a trust fund for me and that account had been credited with an inheritance and some money that my uncle Kyuubi had added before he fled to the United States. Small amounts from this had been paid out each month to help support Iruka, as my foster father, but I couldn't access the full amount until I reached the legal age of 20. Jiraiya handled all of this, for which I was thankful. It made it so, if someone were to look at the account records, they'd know I was still alive, they just wouldn't be able to find out where. I was hidden entirely. Well… until now.

The whispers surrounding Sasuke and I hadn't stopped, but that was to be expected. But now, I noticed that my relationship with him had begun to gain a few fans in and of itself. We were now being watched by the worst kind of fangirl yet: the boys' love-obsessed kind (1). I was pretty sure that Sakura and Ino were a part of this group, but I'd yet to find evidence of that.

Sasuke and I hadn't been able to go out as often. We'd somehow become celebrities, and any time we left he house, there seemed to be pictures in the papers the next day showing as at even our most mundane. Students had been warned against speaking to reporters, but apparently, people were willing to pay good money for information about the Uchiha and Uzumaki heirs dating. I hadn't realized just how important our families were, or just how many newspapers a scandal could sell.

And so, November passed and the attention slowly died down. For all my worry, things didn't seem to be going badly. In fact, life became almost normal again. New rumors circulated about people other than us― like that of Hinata's neck biting fetish, or what several students had been doing in the school's boiler room, or that Kakashi had been having romantic liaisons with a teacher from the elementary school with a scar on his nose (the last of which I chose to ignore as much as I possibly could; if Iruka's excuse for being out more often was that he was taking a spinning class, I was going to believe him, dammit). Sasuke had been slowly repairing his relationship with his mother and brother, and though he'd yet to move back in, he'd been officially re-recognized as an heir to the Uchiha name and fortune. Things were looking up.

And then, everything fell.

On an afternoon in early December, I was walking home from Sasuke's apartment (with much less fear of doing so than I had once had). The school day had brought with it a particularly irritating science test and lap-running in gym, which I was now required to participate in fully, and so I was really looking forward to just crashing on the couch for some intelligence-free TV; I was nearly home.

"Mr. Uzumaki," a voice called out from behind me, "May I have a word?" I didn't turn around. I'd learned by then to ignore the so-called paparazzi.

"No, I will not give you a quote for your newspaper or a picture for your blog," I recited the line (that I often had to say lately) with little inflection.

"Understandable," the voice replied, "But not what I'm after."

It was then that I turned to face him, wondering why he'd approached me if not for a gossip-laden story. But I knew right away that the man standing there, gazing at me serenely behind round glasses, was not a reporter.

It was Kabuto.

I took a few steps backwards, nearly stumbling, my mind in a panic. No amount of random laughter could help me now.

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Sorry it's so, so short! I realized after having put this aside for two weeks that I wasn't going to be able to write more as I had intended. You have no idea how much work I have… 50 drawings, a 4-page essay (which I'm supposed to be writing now), a 10-page essay due next week, and multiple other projects in between. And I'm sick.

So I thought I'd post it as is, since something is better than nothing. Oh, and:

1. Imagine me, sticking out my tongue teasingly, as you read this. Self-aware mockery is the best kind. Also, my roommate is just as much a squealing fangirl of gay boys as me ^_^

Please review! Motivate me to work and not procrastinate on EVERYTHING. Reviews = love.

*******This story has been put on hiatus/is up for deletion. You can read it here, unchanged from how it was first published, for now, but it WILL NOT be updated. For some explanation, look to the top of my profile page.*******


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